Community Tasting Notes 11

• Juliansi Likes this wine: 88 points

  December 27, 2023 - 30 Bordeauxs in 27 days of December.. Happy Bordecembre!
  
  Plum notes on the nose, such purity. Oak dominated the palate though.
  Even after 3 hours b/breathe, Acid M and Tannins grippy M+.
  
  A third of our lunch party said.. its a NW! I stuck to my guns, perhaps a Right Bank Bdx.. 2015? Turns out is a 2013, but never would I have guessed its the mighty CB!
  
  A very interesting blend indeed.. 🍇 Merlot 49%, Cab Franc 48% and Cab Sauv 3%. I always thought Cheval was simply a blend of CF and Merlot, looks like there is some minutiae of Cab Sauv too.
  
  The wine then underwent no saignée (bleeding from fermentation vats), and was not chaptalised. It contains no press wine and was entirely aged in new oak barrels for 15 months.
  
  🔫 Amazing end to the year..
  When asked why I scored this so far down for a 1st Growth?
  This vintage of 2013 would be (and is!) full of hits and misses, so it was kind of expected. But who knows how this vintage may evolve in another perhaps 5 to 10 years?
  
  Thanks birthday brother Hann Sze for this kind treat, yet another Cheval Blanc. 2nd for the month, and joins the 1989, 2001, and 2011 this year.
  
  27th Dec 2023
  Tang Room, Malaysia

  Comment

• Cailles wrote: 91 points

  December 16, 2019 - 30 Vintages of Cheval Blanc: All tasted blind. 1982 to 2015 (with 1949 in the mix). The wines are fragrant, perfumed, seductive and always soft and without weight. Best performing vintages: the rather hot/ripe vintages 2015, 2009 and 1982 (all complex, seductive, complete and with elevated concentration). Next best: the promising and pure 2010, the still sexy 1990 and the immortal 1949. Notable outperformer: 2011 with many other good off-vintages. Notable underperformer: 2005, 2000, 1998 which all showed rather muted and not yet ready.
  
  TN: Not overly expressive, cool, fresh in style, fairly round and balance, some terroir expression and red fruit perfume but overall lean, subpar concentration and hardly any complexity. Not that it would be bad to drink, not that it is not likely one of the better 2013s but this is just not interesting enough.

  1 person found this helpful Comment

• Collector1855 wrote: 93 points

  November 29, 2019 - Chateau Cheval Blanc - 30 year vertical (1949-2015) tasted blind: Nose of red berries, cherry, roses. Lovely aromatics, light palate. It did not find many friends at the table, I thought it was actually quite pleasant to drink. Of course from a QPR perspective you can go elsewhere for this.

  Comment

• Eric Guido Likes this wine: 92 points

  June 20, 2018 - Joanne Bordeaux Trip 2018 (Bordeaux): The nose was beautiful and lifted with floral-infused raspberry, lavender, violets, sweet dusty minerals and spice box. On the palate, I found soft textures with zesty red and blue fruits, savory herbs, minerals and a mix of grippy tannin and zesty acidity. It finished on dark berries and sweet minty herbs, still showing a bit of tannic heft, yet already quite easy to like.

  Comment

• RajivAyyangar wrote: 87 points

  January 30, 2018 - IMW Bordeaux Tasting - 2013 Vintage (Hyatt, San Francisco): Medium ruby with red at the rim. Aromatic with vanilla/cinnamon (new oak), faint blackberry, light stewed bell peppers (pyrazines). The nose is a bit oak-dominated at the moment. In the mouth it's tarter and more astringent than the Evangile, Lafleur, or Angelus - more cab franc dominant perhaps. Feels floral but at the same time quite austere.

  Comment

Pro Reviews 16

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2013
• Type Red
• Producer Château Cheval Blanc
• Varietal Red Bordeaux Blend
• Designation n/a
• Vineyard n/a
• Country France
• Region Bordeaux
• SubRegion Libournais
• Appellation St. Émilion Grand Cru
• UPC Code 400003891481

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 44 (8%)
• In Cellars 421 (74%)
• Consumed 103 (18%)

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