The 2000 Domaine de Chevalier is deep in color. It has a precocious bouquet of black cherries, blueberry, red currant and violets, very well defined and focused; there is real panache here. The palate is medium-bodied, stocky and quite foursquare at the moment, with dry-ish tannins – what you might call a “masculine” wine. Quite briny and marine-influenced, this exerts a firm grip and certainly would benefit from either decanting or further bottle age.

Subtle and already delicious. This is lovely. Loads of chocolate and berry character in this young red. Full-bodied, with soft tannins and a medium-long finish. Best after 2007.

Drink 2008-2025
-Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide No 7

Abundant notes of sandy, loamy soil, forest floor, black currants, cherries, and unsmoked high-class cigar tobacco jump from the glass of this complex, perfumed Pessac-Leognan. Medium-bodied and lighter than many 2000s, it has resolved all of its tannin, and appears to have reached full maturity. This wine has such superb balance that I suspect it will last another 8-10 years. (91 Pts) www.erobertparker.com