1947 Château Cheval Blanc

Community Tasting Notes (52) Avg Score: 96.7 points

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  1/15/2024 - Aptosc6 Likes this wine: 96 Points

  Spectacular wine. Port like nose. Marisheno cherries with soft tannins. Lingering finish. Incredible. My 4th time!

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  2/18/2023 - JimHow Likes this wine: 100 Points

  Indeed, it was an absolutely epic night at the Vienna Wine Bar in nearby Davie. I thought the 1947 Cheval Blanc was exactly the way I've heard it described over the years -- it did indeed have a subtle port like profile, but not at all unbalanced, to the contrary, holding up beautifully on the nose and palate after all these years. This was beautifully balanced, pure class, not in any way unbalanced by alcohol. The color was still a healthy purple, aged but so noble. There was no doubt in our mind that this was the real deal, Stuart was harsh in his assessment, saying it didn't match up with a previous bottle, but I'm hard pressed to see how this wine could be any better at age 76. The cork was authentically seeped through, the bottle seemed to have great provenance, the markings on the cork matched the lettering on the soiled label, with reference to a Christie's auction sale in May of 1979. I kept the bottle and cork with pictures, I'm going to ask Maureen to take a look at it next time I see her, there is certainly no doubt in our minds. It was an absolute thrill to be a part of such history and, of course, to be the recipient of such legendary generosity from Stu and Kathy Roberts. Peter and I were giddy over at our end of the table. Wow. Absolutely epic. 100 points.
  
  We started with the perfectly delightful 168th edition of Krug, a wine I have in my room that we'll be sipping again later this afternoon, this wine in the past has been my Krug epiphany and it was a wonderful start to the evening.
  
  Besides the Cheval Blanc, the 1990 Beausejour Duffau was a wine of the night, again, breathtaking on both the bouquet and palate, hedonistic but pure merlot class, aging beautifully. This is the second time I've had this wine and this time I get what all the fuss is about. 100 points.
  
  Tommy's 1988 Lafleur was another stunning 99-pointer, my first Lafleur ever(?). 99+ points. At some point I stopped taking notes as one 1982 and 1990 after another appeared at the table, including 1982 Vieux Chateau Certan, 1982 Magdelaine, 1990 Clinet, 1982 Canon, 1979 and 1982 Trotanoy, and on and on.... Both the 1982 and 1990 L'Evangile were absolutely brilliant, still youthful and everything we look for from 1980s-era right bank. Tragically, my 1988 Haut Brion was corked.... Peter and I were convincing ourselves that it was just cold and needed to open up but the other side of the table detected taint and, sure enough, when I revisited it towards the end of the night, it was dead as a doorknob. Peter's 1959 Guirard was a fresh, balanced caramel beauty to end the night. Oh what a night!
  
  On the agenda for tonight: the northern Medoc.

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  2/17/2023 - sdr Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Unanimous agreement that this bottle sourced from K&L 2021 was unquestionably legitimate. The fill was astounding, very top shoulder. Firm moist cork that came out in one piece. Excellent to amazing color, ruby with brown at the very edge. Giving very little on the nose though whether just opened or a few hours later. The palate however was exceptionally sweet in a white sugar way but not a caricature or vulgar. Actually it’s a very pleasant even delightful drink. No hint of volatility or excess alcohol. Only those who had tasted it before criticized it for this bottles relative simplicity and lack of perfume.

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  3/22/2022 - Hugo Hilde Likes this wine: 99 Points

  Cheval Blanc 1947 and company (Tøyen, Oslo): A lot of anticipation going into this tasting, praying for a correct bottle.
  Bottled by the Norwegian Wine Monopoly, imported by barrel from the Cruse family. Perfectly stored since the 50ies.
  
  Cork out in one piece, immediately wonderful scents of sous bois, dried mushrooms and a strangely positive glue aroma. This is actually still youthful, could easily be stored several decades. No doubt this is going to last all night in the glass.
  
  What a nose. My god, complexity in the highest order. It´s not as deep as other wines, but features an endless myriad of very precise scents. I could sit all night poking my brain, always finding another element.
  The fruit is red and elegant, peaches, raspberries, candied strawberries, cherries, blood orange, as well as rose stalks, gentle pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. Also quite high acidity, some VA and balsamic notes, but only in the sense of adding complexity and lift, keeping it light on its toes. This is just a fraction of the components, but I was busy enjoying the wine. This is not a technical exercise after all, a wine of this magnitude just wants to be cherished. A ballerina nose, superbly elegant.
  
  The palate needed some air to flesh out, after an hour in the glass it was perfect.
  Blackberries, pine needles and an array of tertiary aromas. The fruit grew sweeter with air, strawberries and cherries balancing out the tertiary features. Scary elegant. Resolved tannins, breadth to die for. Still, even developing in the glass, for hours, it has structure somehow beyond tannins, a perfect chassis. It covers the entirety of the mouth, super expansive but never heavy.
  The finish is the longest I have experienced. Close to endless, carried by strawberries, cedar and sous bois.
  
  Nose 100, palate 98-99, finish 100 = 99++
  
  Not an earth shattering wine in scale, (size isnt everything, ey?)but a perfect bottle of wine, not a hair out of place. Was nothing like the tasting notes from professionals, though this was not chateau bottled, seems like the barrels the chateau sold off in bulk was not as extreme as some of the barrels they bottled themselves. Obviously extreme bottle variations here, feeling lucky to experience a superb bottle of this legend.

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  3/15/2022 - GuWin wrote: 98 Points

  Pen, hel og nesten gjennomtrukket kork, åpnet med Durand men hadde ikke trengt det. Åpner med et snev av innestengt kjeller og fuktig bok - ikke så rart etter 75 år - men det blåser raskt av. Duften er intenst dyp og forandrer seg hele veien, starter med et søtlig mørkt bærpreg, skogbunn og lakristoner, etterhvert kommer et lite mynte-/eukalyptuspreg og svake toner av cedertre, og etter to timer jordbær. Utrolig raffinert og ren lukt.
  Smaken er - utrolig nok - ungdommelig og frisk og jeg kunne tippet en god 80-tallsårgang blindt. Det er en enorm intensitet her, stor munnfølelse uten at det blir for mye; vi hadde Troplong Mondot 09 etterpå og den bød på for mye av det gode. Smakspofilen er full av varm, mørk og moden frukt, stor sødmefull bærfølelse mot modne jordbær og bjørnebær og et streif av mint mot slutten av smakskurven. Tanninstrukturen er avslepet og finkornet og bidrar til fast struktur, syren balanserer frukten perfekt. Ettersmaken må være noe av det lengste jeg har opplevd med jordbær, orientalske krydder og spicy tretoner i avslutningen. For en vin og for en opplevelse! Vi bikker lett 98 poeng her.

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