This top-notch effort appears capable of rivaling Chauvin’s brilliant 2001 and 1998. The color is a handsome blue/purple to the rim. The bouquet offers scents of smoke, minerals, crushed rocks, white flowers, black cherries, and some blue fruits. Powerful and dense, with high alcohol, glycerin, and fruit, low acidity, ripe tannin, and tremendous richness, it should be at its finest between 2008-2018. Impeccably well-made by Madame Ondet, the inky/ruby/purple-colored 2003 offers up beautiful aromas of jammy black fruits intertwined with licorice, smoke, and graphite. It possesses nicely integrated acidity, alcohol, and tannin as well as a voluptuous, full-bodied, layered personality. Once again, this estate deserves more attention than it is receiving from serious wine consumers. Already flattering to taste, with a long, impressive finish, this sleeper of the vintage will be at its finest between 2006-2014.

Aromas of dried herbs, chocolate, black cherry jam, earth, and spice emerge from this fleshy, ripe, medium to full-bodied, dark plum/ruby-hued 2003. It will provide lovely drinking now and over the next decade.

This property was purchased in 2014 by Sylvie Cazes of Chateau Lynch Bages (also the sister of Jean-Michel Cazes). The fully mature 2003 Chauvin exhibits a dark plum color in addition to copious fig and plum notes, and what many would think is the over-ripeness and sur-maturite of 2003, low acids. However, the wine is still intact and medium-bodied with lots of dark, foresty, plummy fruits. Drink it over the next several years.