The aromas and the tastes…

The winemaker’s role is to reflect the best the terroir has to offer and to reproduce the intrinsic taste parameters that correspond to Domaine de Chevalier.

Olivier Bernard describes Domaine de Chevalier’s white wines: “Our aim is not to make the wine as fruity as possible at all costs. Measured extraction and barrel ageing create very complex wines – beautifully fresh, never heavy, and with an incredibly long aftertaste that “unfolds like a peacock’s tail”... We target the long term and make a great wine that needs time to reveal its full potential.”

Thomas Stonestreet confirms that “Domaine de Chevalier blanc is an incredibly complex wine, that can age for many years ... It features much more than just fruitiness. It also very velvety, rich, and concentrated...”

Rémi Edange has much to say about the wine’s bouquet: “An incredibly complex nose... Above and beyond the varietal aromas there are empyreumatic overtones of resin, smoke, liquorice, coffee, and even, in certain vintages, cedar and Havana cigars... With regard to the fruit, Domaine de Chevalier often shows quince as well as peach, apricot, pineapple, tropical fruit (lychees), and citrus. In older vintages, the bouquet is reminiscent of a fine Sauternes. As if this were not enough, there are also floral overtones of vine flowers, herb teas (lime-blossom, verbena), etc...”

Olivier Bernard has this to say about his red wines: “Domaine de Chevalier rouge has good structure and a great deal of finesse, complexity, and ageing potential – which does not exclude a smooth, fruity quality that makes it enjoyable in its youth. Always balanced, never aggressive, power is by no means the priority...”

Rémi Edange adds: “Chevalier’s red wines are well-structured with round, very fine, tight-knit tannin... They are tremendously elegant and distinguished with a very long aftertaste and more delicacy than power...”

« le dessert » - Jan davidz de Heem

Thomas Stonestreet: “Domaine de Chevalier is always ethereal and classy, with overtones of red fruit (raspberry), liquorice, cashew, and spice, accompanied by understated stewed fruit aromas. It very fine and fresh with a hint of menthol...”

Oliver Bernard

  • Animal series:

    Amber - gamey, venison, fur, wet dog - musk, musky, civet - sweat, grease - mouse urine, cat - meat, meaty- indole, scatole, hung-tide, « fraichin .»

  • Balsamic series:

    Cade oil, juniper-pine, pitch pine, resin, resinous, turpentine - incense - vanilla.

  • Wooded series:

    Green wood - old wood, rancio wood - acacia wood - oak - cedar, sandalwood, pencil, cigar box (barrel) stave - bark, wood - rancio cognac, armagnac .

  • Chemical series:

    Acetic acid - alcohol - carbon - hydrocarbons, naphthol, phenol - sulfur, sulfide, sulfurous - celluloid, ebonite - medical, pharmaceutical, disinfectant - iodine, chlorine, graphite.

  • Spicy series (and smells of spices ):

    Anise, dill, Chinese badian (star anise) , fennel - mushroom, agaric, girolle, boletus , cep, truffle -cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, green pepper - basil, spearmint, peppermint, thyme - angelique - Licorice - garlic, onion - oregano, marjoram, lavender, garrigue - camphor - vermouth.

  • Empyreumatic series:

    Smoke, tobacco smoke, smoked - stock - incense – burnt, toasted , caramel, toasted almonds, toast, burnt stone, gun flint, flint stone, burnt wood, fire, rubber - leather, Russian leather - roasted coffee, cocoa, chocolate .

  • Ethereal series (and smells fermentations ):

    Isoamyl acetate, acetone, amyl, banana, acid drops (candy) , English candy, nail polish, higher fatty acid esters ( caprates, caproate, caprylates ), soap, soapy , candle, wax, stearin - yeast, ferment, yeast-based pastry, wheat, beer, cider - lactic, sour milk, dairy product, dairy, cheese dairy, butter, diacetyl, yogurt, sauerkraut - mop, barn, stable .

  • Flower series:

    Floral - acacia flowers – almond flowers – orange blossom - apple flowers- peach flowers – privet flowers - elderflower – grapevine flowers - hawthorn, wild rose, honeysuckle - lemon - hyacinth, narcissus - Jasmine - geranium, Pelargonium - heather, broom - marshmallow - Magnolia - honey - peony, réséda, rose - chamomile, linden - verbena - iris, violet - chrysanthemum, wallflower, carnation.

  • Fruity series:

    Raisins, currants, candied grape, raisined grapes, grapey, muscaté - black cherry, wild cherry, Griotte, bigarreau , merise, kirsch, cherry - plum, prune, prunelle, mirabelle, kernel, almond, bitter almond, pistachio - wild berries, small berry , bilberry, blueberry, black currant, strawberry, wood strawberry, raspberry, gooseberry , mulberry - apricot , quince , peach, pear , golden apple, reinette apple, melon - citrus , bergamot, citron, lemon , orange, grapefruit – pineapple, banana - dried figs , fig - pomegranate, grenadine - walnut, hazelnut - green olive , black olive .

  • Vegetal series:

    Grass, grassy , herbaceous, herby, grassland, hay, haying, meadow aroma - green leaf, taste of tendril, blackcurrant leaf, crumpled, withered, bay leaf , herbal infusion, dead leaf - smell of greenery, sagebrush, Aristolochia, cabbage, watercress, ivy, mercurial, rambergue, Indian carnation - horseradish , radish - fern - Green coffee - tea, tobacco - humus , dust, underbrush , earth, earthy, swamp, tree moss.