On the nose woody, with resin and a touch of burnt. In the mouth austere, but well balanced, with soft tannins and a fresh aftertaste, which sadly is a bit short. This is a wine that growths in the glass and with time shows more complexity. Overall, a good classic Bordeaux from Pessac-Léognan.
The week before tasting this 2008 I shared a 2007 with some friends. A bottle that surprised us, the 2007 Bordeaux vintage having been a very challenging one, characterised by a cool and wet weather for most of the summer. A vintage saved from disaster by a nice September weather.
In spite of being an “off-vintage”, the 2007 Bordeaux wines were released to the market vastly overpriced. This didn’t happen in 2008, an overall better vintage, that due to the effects of the financial crisis and the gloomy global economic picture were initially priced significantly lower.
This wine produced by Domain de Chevalier is ranked among the Grand Crus Classé of the 1953/1959 Classification of Graves wines. It is a blend of 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 9% Petit Verdot.
For this bottle I paid 52 CHF at ARVI four years ago. I drunk it the night before starting my biannual Fasting Mimicking Diet, which unfortunately doesn’t include wine.
Country: France
Region: Bordeaux
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot
Type: Red
Vintage: 2008
Producer: Domain de Chevalier
Price range: Extra (50-100 US$)
Pascal’s Enjoyment Index: 3/5