News from Domaine de Chevalier

My advice on choosing what wines to serve at table

Meals at Chevalier are planned around the wines I have selected to serve, and  I work closely with the chef to find the most appropriate food matches.

I have always enjoyed having fun with different vintages, for example serving only years that end with the same number. This is not only amusing, but also makes for a memorable meal. So long as the wine and food matches are successful, a theme like this gives an unusual dimension to a meal, and guests usually remember it long afterward…

In my opinion, one of the bywords for understanding wine is diversity. As a rule, I never serve two bottles of the same wine. My aim is not to display impressive bottles of a trophy wine but, on the contrary, to serve a selection of wines on a given theme (vertical tasting of the same wine, horizontal tasting of wines from the same vintage, a comparison of two estates or the same grape variety grown in two different regions, etc.). I like to think that at the end of a tasting dinner, my guests will leave with a better idea of the theme the wines were chosen to reflect…  

I admit that I like to surprise my guests, which was the case at a meal served at Domaine de Chevalier on 16 December 2008 (please see the "At table" section), during which my guests queried me about the wines: "Strange, you served the 1928 red Chevalier before the 1988…" or "A fifty year-old dry white wine?". Questions such as this helped me to explain the character of each vintage, and the wine of Domaine de Chevalier…

Beware of preconceived notions…

Great red wines are too often served too warm – and great whites too cold.

Depending on its age, red Domaine de Chevalier should be decanted fairly far in advance and, in any event, never be served at a temperature of more than 16/18°C. Ideally, white Chevalier should also be systematically decanted – two or three hours beforehand if less than ten years old –  and served at 10/12°C.

 With regard to purchasing great white wines, it is useful to know that  "off years" for red wines can sometimes be outstanding white wine vintages. This is because white wine grapes are picked two weeks before red wine grapes. They are therefore far less vulnerable to autumn showers. As you are surely aware, the reputation and price of Bordeaux wines in a given vintage is based on the quality of red wines. Wine lovers thus have much to gain in certain red wine vintages whose so-so reputation overshadows an excellent year for white wines… at a rather interesting price!

"I suggest that you avoid white Chevalier with shellfish such as oysters, mussels, cockles, whelks etc., that do not bring out its best qualities, in favour of fish, lobster, white meats and, above all, most great French cheeses made from unpasteurised milk."