Domaine de Chevalier Half 1988

`Domaine de Chevalier 1988 is a mature Left Bank Bordeaux red wine from Pessac-Léognan. Domaine de Chevalier is a prestigious wine estate in the Pessac-Léognan appellation of the Graves region. The winery and vineyards are located south of the city of Bordeaux, in the commune of Léognan. This release is the 1988 vintage of its flagship wine. "I have not drunk the 1988 vintage of Domaine de Chevalier with anywhere near the same frequency as I have other vintages of the 1980s here, but the ’88 vintage is one I like far more than many commentators and I had high expectations for this wine at our vertical tasting of the property held in the summer of 2017. The wine did not disappoint, as it is complete on both the nose and palate and was just about ready to start drinking beautifully as it neared its thirtieth birthday. The nose delivers an aromatic constellation of red plums, a touch of blood orange, cigar wrapper, that inimitable DDC soil, cigar smoke, a bit of vanillin oak and a lovely topnote of raw cocoa. On the palate the wine is pure, deep and full-bodied, with lovely focus and soil signature, still a bit of moderate, buried tannins and a long, complex and perfectly balanced finish. When I tasted this in June of 2017, I felt two or three more years would be perfect for it, so I would anticipate that it is now squarely into its apogee of peak drinkability." John Gilman, 2020