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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 96.1 pts. and median of 96 pts. in 222 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by G SQUARED on 4/24/2024 & rated 99 points: Two hour decant needed. Still a baby. Incredible. (312 views) | | | Tasted by steinersing on 3/28/2024 & rated 99 points: This wine is really as good as everyone tells you. A lot going on here with decades to go. (700 views) | | | Tasted by GNBB on 1/19/2024 & rated 98 points: Decanted 2 hours. Dark & intense, showing a little light paling to rim. Super nose with fresh dark cherry, violets and plenty of herbes de Provence. Palate is ripe, intense, deep - again, dark black cherries, a little spice (nutmeg) with floral notes (rose?) - good freshness with a zip of acid, in perfect balance with light-medium tannins (a good grip though). Long, long persistence. Soft, supple, balanced - excellent. I’ve had several bottles of this wine - it’s always wonderful and this is no exception. I think, perhaps for the first time, that it is at its apogee - perfect now, but will last. Excellent. Drink now-2032. (1532 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 1/13/2024 & rated 99 points: A few more years of age and this could hit 100 Pts. It is a thrill-a-sip wine. The nose is packed with leafy mint, smoke, cherries, licorice, flowers, cocoa, tobacco, and truffles. The wine is intense. full-bodied, opulent, flamboyant and sensuous. This is Cheval Blanc at its sexiest best. The layers and leaves of fruit on the mid-palate and in the seamless finish should stop any winelover in their tracks. Drink from 2024-2060. (2596 views) | | | Tasted by soyhead on 1/6/2024: decanted 2 hrs
nose-minty
mouth - serious body here. red-fruited licorice and red cherries. there's a very round smooth red wine classicism here that to me indicates a bordeaux of pedigree. But i think it might need another ten years (or more) to really develop complexity and shine. Worth trying if you are lucky enough to have multiple bottles. (1671 views) | | | Tasted by lifebreath on 12/25/2023 & rated 95 points: This wine is still going strong. A great balance of primary cherry and orange fruit and pronounced tertiary flavors of sandal wood, paprika, leather and spice. Beat out the ‘98 Haut Brion and paired exceptionally well with dry aged prime rib roast. Sadly the last three bottles of 12. 😭 (1499 views) | | | Tasted by mclanew on 10/10/2023 & rated 98 points: Decanted three hours. Nose is a bit reticent but starts to show lovely floral, sweet tobacco notes. The wine is concentrated but extremely elegant and well balanced. Oozes sophistication and complexity. Great length on the finish. Love this stuff. Has a long way to go still. (2010 views) | | | Tasted by Quiet Lion on 10/4/2023 & rated 100 points: Decanted over cocktails. Absolutely gorgeous with full body, no signs of age other than the perfect balance, leather, herbs, all integrated. Old-school perfection. (1765 views) | | | Tasted by King Julien on 7/25/2023 & rated 94 points: Decanted about an hour. This bottle wasn't representative of past bottles, perhaps slightly flawed or suffered from poor storage at some point in its life. It wasn't horrible, just not what was expected. (2178 views) | | | Tasted by scamhi on 7/21/2023: fantastic bottle and drinking great. Great now and has many years left to enjoy (1906 views) | | | Tasted by alexbhurst1678 on 6/3/2023 & rated 99 points: Best bottle I have had; drank w Carolyn in celebration of Gordon'2 2nd birthday and Hazel's baby naming; earthy tones were out of this world; the finish was insane; the subtle but spicy after-tones lasted for minutes and lingered on your tongue; this is the best Bordeaux I have had. (2183 views) | | | Tasted by Romol on 3/16/2023 flawed bottle: Unfortunately, not a perfect bottle. The wine was drinkable, but not to compare with the last bottle I had. A rating would not be fair. (2583 views) | | | Tasted by King Julien on 3/5/2023 & rated 97 points: Decanted about 2 hours. Very smooth, nice nose, palate complexity evolved over a couple hours. (2492 views) | | | Tasted by King Julien on 1/8/2023 & rated 98 points: Decanted 3 hours. Outstanding bottle. (2424 views) | | | Tasted by lifebreath on 12/25/2022 & rated 96 points: Drinking beautifully. Medium garnet turning medium red with air. Lovely nose. On the palate: cranberry, gooseberry, orange peel, cedar, sage, middle eastern spice and leather. Tannins are well resolved. A lovely wine. Paired perfectly with dry aged prime rib. (2485 views) | | | Tasted by Cailles on 12/18/2022 & rated 94 points: 16x Right Bank Bordeaux 1998: Almost 25 years later, it’s a great time to check in on the wines of the much lauded right bank vintage. All wines tasted single blind. A few observations: A) most wines showed quite open with a melted tannin structure, but still good tension across the board. B) The highlight was rather on the structural side (elegance and finesse in most wines), than on the aromatic depth side, which was limited, also due to… C) …the fact that there is limited tertiary expression yet. Most wines will need at least another 5 to rather 10 years to reach their peak. D) An average rating of 91.9pts in my book and 92.0pts for the group shows that despite a few highlights, the reception was mixed overall. E) Best wines today were Angelus (group average 94.9pts), Valandraud (94.4) and Cheval Blanc (94.0). I would put L’Evangile (rated 95pts) in the top category too but the group (average 92.6) was less enthusiastic.
TN: Fresh dark fruit and herbs on the nose but overall not that inviting or deep. On the palate fresh blue and red berries, crushed rocks, earthy notes, Very light, very much in the weightless camp. Fine tannins, the freshness is great. Missing a touch seductiveness, sweetness and overall depth. Overall good but without the optimal fruit balance to make it great and without the precision of other legendary Cheval vintages as well as no tertiary aromas yet which would add to the complexity. There are two different Cheval 1998 bottlings, this was one that is consistently good but not great. The wine got 3 votes for WOTN but overall only 5 (out of 16) people gave 95 or more pts.
Decanting: Decanted for probably 5+ hours and the wine improved quite markedly over this time frame.
Group score: 94.0
Group rank: 3rd out of 16 reds (3209 views) | | | Tasted by La Sprezzatura on 11/26/2022 & rated 93 points: 1998 Horizontal Bordeaux Right Bank Tasting (private) (Essen'z): All wines were tasted single blind and were decanted before tasting. 14 right bank bordeaux and 2 pirates. All wines were from the vintage 1998.
General observations:
Unfortunately, the tasting was below my expectations. The was no real "wow-effect" at any wines as I had with the left bank tasting 1982-1990 we had a year ago. So I had to find out, that, me, personally, I like more the aged left than the aged right banks. In the end, Ridge Montebello (pirate) ended even up being the wine of the night for me.
______
TN:
creamy palate, really nice and elegant, nothing distinctive or special. palate and nose was tired after 15 wines. (1874 views) | | | Tasted by sirpat00 on 11/26/2022 & rated 93 points: Bordeaux Right Bank 1998 tasting (Essenz (Brugg)): Bordeaux right bank 1998 tasting. All wines were served single blind and were decanted several hours. The sample showed i/ generally healthy and structured wines, still quite primary with further aging potential; ii/ the overall performance was below expectations considering the repute of the vintage for the right bank (although this may be due to the very long aeration), iii/ top wine for me were 1. Valandrau (95), 2. L’Evangile (95), 3. Angélus (94) while for the group the ranking was 1. Angélus (94.9), 2. Valandrau (94.4), 3. Cheval Blanc (94.0). Complete list including group scores included in the tasting story.
Tasting note:
Ripe and surprisingly extracted fruit of red berry and some elements of coffee beans. Palate had fresh acidity but also notable age which felt close to fatigue. This failed to impress, unfortunately. Have had a better, but also not fully convincing bottle about 3 years ago. (2143 views) | | | Tasted by MAXIMUM SATISFACTION on 11/24/2022 & rated 96 points: Decanted a few hours then back into bottle. Still tons of structure and tannin. Cedar, leather, dusty cherry, eucalyptus and vanilla. Plenty of time left here. (1844 views) | | | Tasted by Alex G. on 10/13/2022: My favorite wine tonight in a strong lineup of right banks. It was showing well early, and yet was complex. There was ample fruit but it wasn't outright glou glou like the Pavie, and there was some sauvage. It was contemplative without being austere, a sweet spot.
With that said, this wasn't nearly as magical as the 1982 a decade ago - which was my all time favorite Bordeaux - but it's an excellent wine. In sum not the best Cheval Blanc ever, but certainly a strong vintage. (2068 views) | | | Tasted by etyc on 10/12/2022: Popped & decanted. First sniff in, and wow, this was most certainly a gorgeous Bord. Scents of dark-red/black cherries, smoke, coffee, bits of plums and herbs. Plush with feminine sexiness, this exuded elegance at the same time. More dark/red-cherries followed on the palate, with the fruit-core wrapped in a sensual satiny texture. Finished long & complex, this was probably hitting the start of its prime state and will probably gain even more complexity as it ages furthur. A darn good Bord! (1910 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 10/12/2022 & rated 99 points: Cheval Blanc is an expensive wine. But if you have the disposable income, this is the vintage to buy. Opulent, vibrant, and sensuous, this silky display of concentrated plums and cherries gets better and better with every swirl, sniff, and sip. It is impossible to put your glass down without taking another sip. Give it a bit more time and it should hit triple digits! Drink from 2022-2050. (3306 views) | | | Tasted by rikipedia on 9/19/2022 & rated 94 points: Coats Family Cellar Tasting (Wine Cellar): 65% Merlot; 35% CF; Deep mahogany brown. The nose seems a little evolved with dried earth and savoury notes - quite meat stock-y and undergrowth. A deep wine with good intensity has penetration, focus and a savoury mid-palate. Fairly dense, firm tannins with lively acidity. The flavours are spice, dried black fruits, black tea, dried herbs, and undergrowth, but the fruit is drying out. It lacks the mid-palate softness that I expected and then I found the wine a little too evolved and lacking freshness. Yet still has some of the credentials that make for a top wine. (1426 views) | | | Tasted by dchain on 9/7/2022 & rated 92 points: I really don’t think this is one of the great vintages for Cheval. There are still unresolved tannins after 24 years which is just not a great sign and they are the rough, steamy, tea like tannins which are starting to give a drying finish. The nose however is much better than the palate but it is still dominated by black tea, soil and leaf notes with some underlying black fruit notes. Also a touch of rose at the end which is beautiful. Just not convinced this is the best $1000 bottle of wine you can have by a long way… (2060 views) | | | Tasted by King Julien on 8/13/2022 & rated 97 points: Decanted about 3 hours. (2016 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Michael Godel
WineAlign (12/18/2022)
(Château Cheval Blanc, Saint émilion Grand Cru Classé red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Gilman
View From the Cellar, Mar/Apr 2022, Issue #98, The Stunning 1998 Vintage On Bordeaux’s Right Bank
(Chateau Cheval Blanc) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Neal Martin
Vinous, A Century of Bordeaux: The Eights (May 2018) (5/18/2018)
(Cheval Blanc Cheval Blanc Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jeb Dunnuck
JebDunnuck.com, Up From the Cellar and Misc. New Releases (12/12/2017)
(Cheval Blanc) Login and sign up and see review text. | By James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com (2/8/2017)
(Château Cheval Blanc St.-Emilion, Red, France) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (6/21/2016)
(Ch Cheval Blanc St-émilion Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Kapon
Vintage Tastings, Hong Kong Killers (2/5/2010)
(Cheval Blanc) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (1/26/2010)
(Ch Cheval Blanc St-Émilion) Subscribe to see review text. | The World of Fine Wine, June 2008, Issue #20
(Chateau Cheval Blanc) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (4/7/2008)
(Ch Cheval Blanc St-Émilion Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (12/10/2007)
(Ch Cheval Blanc St-Émilion Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Kapon
Vintage Tastings, Bipin Cheval Weekend (12/7/2007)
(Cheval Blanc) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (8/13/2007)
(Ch Cheval Blanc St-Émilion Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (3/11/2006)
(Ch Cheval Blanc St-Émilion Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, November 2005
(Chateau Cheval Blanc St Emilion) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, May 2004
(Chateau Cheval Blanc St Emilion) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, May 2004
(Château Cheval Blanc St Emilion Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (1/3/2003)
(Ch Cheval Blanc St-Émilion Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, July/August 2002, IWC Issue #103
(Chateau Cheval Blanc Saint Emilion) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (6/28/2002)
(Ch Cheval Blanc St-Émilion Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2001, IWC Issue #96
(Chateau Cheval Blanc Saint Emilion) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2000, IWC Issue #90
(Chateau Cheval Blanc Saint Emilion) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 1999, IWC Issue #84
(Chateau Cheval Blanc Saint Emilion) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (1/19/2007)
(Château Cheval Blanc) Good red color; lovely, rich, elegant plum and white pepper nose; caramel oak, sexy, tangy, espresso, currant, fig and minerals palate; long finish 96+ pts. 96 points | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (8/28/2005)
(Château Cheval Blanc) Vanilla, mocha, caramel nose; tight but tasty, elegant, black fruit, caramel palate; long finish 94+ pts. 94 points | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (2/5/2004)
(Château Cheval Blanc) Tart cherry, graphite nose with a touch of vanilla and oak; wow! great coffee, cherry, cassis, coffee palate with beautiful fruit, velvety tannins; long finish 96 points | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (2/21/2003)
(Château Cheval Blanc) Lovely berry, berry preserves, vanilla nose; berries, blackberries, plum, coffee palate, drinking well now; long finish 95+ pts. (55% Cabernet Franc, 45% Merlot) 95 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of WineAlign and View From the Cellar and Vinous and JebDunnuck.com and JamesSuckling.com and JancisRobinson.com and Vintage Tastings and The World of Fine Wine and Winedoctor and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Château Cheval Blanc Producer website - Read more about Chateau Cheval Blanc
Their second wine is Le Petit Cheval.
The vineyard on weinlagen-infoRed Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanLibournais Libournais (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux) - Read more about St. Emilion and its wines - Read more about Pomerol and its wines
Saint Emilion Grat Classified Growth, Classified Growths, Grands Crus Classes, GCC
In 1954, while the "Graves" growths had just published their own classification, the wine syndicate of Saint-Emilion, composed by wine growers, brokers and wine traders with the approval of the INAO - Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (A.O.C), decided to work on a classification for the wines of Saint Emilion. Initially, four grades were defined. These were reduced to two - First Great Classified Growth (A and B) and Great Classified Growth - in 1984.
As of Medoc's 1855 historical grading, the Saint-Emilion Great Classified Growth classification is not only based on qualitative criteria by tasting the wines on a ten years period previous to the assessment, but also on commercial considerations such as:
- sales price levels
- national and international commercial distribution
- the estate's reputation on the market
Properties who don't manage to join the club of about sixty Classified Growths are given the denomination of Great Growth ("Grand Cru"), while the remaining wineries of the A.O.C are simply reported as "Saint-Emilion". It is to be noted that the owners must officially apply to appear in the official classification. Thus for example the famous Chateau Tertre-Roteboeuf, whose quality and reputation would easily justify to be listed among the First Great Classified Growths, does not appear here by the will of its owner, François Mitjaville.
The Saint-Emilion Great Growth classification was revised in 1969, 1985, 1996 and 2006. The only two guaranteed vintage (A.O.C) who can apply to the classification are the "Saint-Emilion Grand Cru" and "Saint-Emilion" areas.
By grading 61 properties, the 2006 revision confirmed many growths from the former classification, but also caused a number of surprises and a few inevitable disappointments. Many observers thought that the impressive progression of Perse's Chateau Pavie since 1998 would be rewarded by an upgrade into the First Great Classified Growths (A) category, but finally such was not the case.
Among the estates promoted to the First Great Classified Growths B category are Chateau Troplong-Mondot and Pavie-Macquin, whose efforts made since the Nineties fully justify their new grade. It should be noted that no First Great Classified Growth was relegated to the lower Great Classified Growth class.
Promoted growths from the status of Great Growth ("Grand Cru") to Great Classified Growth ("Grand Cru Classe") are: Chateaux Bellefont-Belcier, Destieux, Fleur Cardinale, Grand Corbin, Grand Corbin-Despagne and Monbousquet.
The demoted growths from the status of Great Classified Growth to Great Growth are: Chateaux Bellevue, Cadet Bon, Faurie de Souchard, Guadet Saint-Julien, La Tour du Pin-Figeac (Belivier), La Tour du Pin-Figeac (Moueix), Lamarzelle, Petite Faurie de Soutard, Tertre Daugay, Villemaurine and Yon-Figeac. If the recent samples of some of the above mentioned properties may justify their current downgrade, there are great chances that estates like Bellevue, Tertre Daugay or Yon-Figeac will be upgraded to their previous rankings by the next revision in 2016 as the progresses noted after 2000, but not entering in the range of vintages (1993 - 2002) appointed for the criteria of selection for the 2006 classification, are noticable.
The two following estates have completely disappeared from the Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classification: Curé-Bon-la-Madeleine (integrated meanwhile to Chateau Canon) and La Clusière (integrated meanwhile to Chateau Pavie).
Finally, no estate considered as "garagiste" has integrated the classification. Valandraud, Mondotte, Le Dome, Bellevue-Mondotte or Magrez-Fombrauge have, for the least, the potential to be ranked as Great Classified Growths. In sight of the very fine quality reached by the above mentioned estates in recent vintages as well as all the innovative wine making methods used by the "garagistes", it remains to be seen whether the authorities will dare to cross the line in 2016..?St. Émilion Grand Cru Les Vins de St. Émilion (Syndicate Vitocole de Saint-Emilion) – Read about St. Emilion
Vins de Bordeaux:
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot
Soil: Sandy soils with alluvial gravel deposits
Surface Area: 4,160 ha |
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