The 2014 Domaine de Chevalier has been uncorked and other ramblings....

[JimHow]

One more day of work and then I'm off to Manhattan and DC for three weeks! I'll still be working remotely but it'll be nice to get out of town for awhile. I've been feeling that these 2014s have been in a good place, let's see how this puppy performs....

[JimHow]

I don't know if "sad" is the right word, I've been just off center all week since I watched "A Zone of Interest" (twice), it's a movie that really upset me.

[JimHow]

Of course, I've generally been coming to the conclusion that life is meaningless, that I'm never going to see my parents again, etc., and that even the vines of Bordeaux and Champagne are dying.

I need a vacation.

[JimHow]

I think the BWE crew had a memorable visit to this estate in 2005. It seems to be a property that has especially generated some buzz in recent years, no?

[JimHow]

we lost another of the Apollo astronauts this week, Tom Stafford, at 93, he was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 10, along with Gene Cernan, they went down to about 8 miles above the Sea of Tranquility to scope out the landing site, test the radar, a final dress rehearsal before Apollo 11 later that summer. They crossed up their switches between the abort guidance system and the primary guidance system and when they lit the ascent stage like 8 miles above the surface it began to tumble out of control, they were like two seconds away from crashing before correcting course back up to the elliptical 60 mile orbit and rendezvous with the command module. I remember that flight, it was one of my favorites, I was home with the chickenpox and was able to follow the live CBS coverage with Walter and Wally Schirra.

[JimHow]

50 years ago we were driving cars on the moon. Now we can't even land a metal box upright.

But hey, this wine is showing nicely, it has a nice fruity quality that is more right bank than left bank.

[JimHow]

Thank goodness for the Orange Head stock market effect.

[JimHow]

I'd be curious to know the merlot content here. This wine is lovely, round, it has a lovely fruity profile, I would definitely identify this as right bank if I were drinking it blind.

[hautbrionlover]

The Merlot content tends to be about 30%.

[Nicklasss]

Looking forward how it is, at 9-10 yo…

[JimHow]

A beautiful wine, true to Graves. A nod to modernness but not offensively so. The fruit is ripe and fresh but the wine is overall elegant. If I were drinking this blind I would wonder if it were a right banker, or a Graves. Opened up with air, the last sips were the best. For me, these 2014s are drinking beautifully right now. Sure this will evolve for another 10-15 years but for my taste it is fresh, the fruit is rich and inviting at age ten. A beauty. Rating: 94 points.

[jckba]

I too pulled this bottle 5 or so weeks ago as I have been slowly working through the 1st bottles from 2014 case purchases after having read through the Southwold reports. And what can I say but we are closely aligned on this one.

Stuffed SRF Waygu Flank and a 10 years on 2014 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge; lovely aromas of dark red fruits, mossy undergrowth and telltale gravelly scents lead to a youthful, red berried and black plum flavors that finish savory and nuanced. 93+

2014 DdC from 2/13

[Nicklasss]

Nice!

I’m resisting testing my 2016, but failure in near i guess…