Press review

Parker # 183 (6/30/2009) : 98+ Maturity: -2024

One of my favorite Cheval Blancs, it remains to be seen if the 1998, 2000, and 2008 will live up to this offering. It is the ripest wine of the aforementioned vintages, with a complex bouquet of tobacco leaf, Christmas fruitcake, sweet black fruits, bordering on fig and plum, but no hint of overripeness, and notions of new saddle leather, mint, and incense. The gorgeously expressive aromatics are followed by a full-bodied wine revealing abundant glycerin as well as elevated alcohol, but it is not hot, and nothing is out of place. Expansive, rich, and revealing the nuances and complexity that come from bottle age, it is at its peak of maturity.

The property in brief

1st classified growth A. There are places in the world which are made exceptional by history and chance. Cheval Blanc is one example. In the 18th century, a large area of the current estate was covered in vines. This can be seen on a map drawn up by Bellayme in 1764. One century later, a period of slow renovation began. In 1871, adjacent plots were acquired, giving the vineyard its definitive layout, drainage system and planting of the Cabernet Franc variety. Were these simply experimental changes or visionary awareness of the potential of an outstanding soil? Chateau Cheval Blanc was acquired by Bernard Arnault (LVMH) and Baron Albert Frère, a rich Belgian businessman, in 1998. Powerful, without aggressiveness, spherical, silky, always with elegance and breed, a core of Cabernet Franc enveloped with Merlot, the wine of Cheval Blanc approaches the style of a Pomerol without resembling a Saint Emilion. With its freshness and cashmere-soft tannins, it ages marvelously, expressing the effect of its terroir, wich makes it more and more complex and subtle.