From the many beautiful premier and 2 eme grand crus from 1953 from the left bank and the giants from the right bank that I have been able to drink, this was one of the most impressive wines ever. The color showed minor signs of browning. Incredible powerful and youthful, fruit forward with great tertiaire notes, earth, tobacco, spices. Round and enorm out length. This wine was a treat, but needs more year to reach its peak. Incredible. Many decades to go go!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
DnP. Dark deep red, slim yellow edge, 6. Wonderful complex bouquet, lots dark fruit, spicy, mocca, leather, jasmin flowers. I could go on. On the palate there is still tannin and freshness, intense but elegant, long long finish. Drink now but no hurry. It will keep for decades. This is what it’s all about.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted for close to an hour. Old leather, pencil shavings and some tight and with shy fruit (prune/black cherry) to start. Opening up nicely and continues to evolve and improve for another 4 hours. High quality leather, rust/raw meat, spice, sweet tobacco. Would have never guessed this could be 65 years of age if I had it blind. Very elegant and wonderfully integrated - one of the best wines I ever had the fortune to drink (as this luckily wasn't a mere tasting).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Much better on the palate, with its lush textures, than on the nose, due to its strong nutty character. More than fully mature, if you are sitting on any, the wine is going to continue losing fruit from here.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
A terrific mature nose. Stony fruit, saddle leather, tobacco, spice and pencil lead. Fully mature, with great balance, everything coming together to a greater whole. Beautiful texture, with a suppleness and great breadth. Seamless and harmonious. Complete. A privilege to drink.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Broad, complex, classic Cheval nose with lots of Christmas & exotic spice, plum, prune. Not terribly intense, but so detailed. Couldn't be mistaken for anything other than Cheval. Much weaker on the palate, but I rate these older wines mostly on the nose as they can't be expected to have the same fruit density on the palate you'd see in the 85 or 86. I gambled on this mid-shoulder half bottle, but the price was right and I was pleased. I'd like to try this from magnum. From any format, though, I wouldn't wait.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
[Château bottled; mhs,dc; leaky cork drawn in 1 piece; shriveled wet end, solid dry end] Amazingly deep dark garnet, orange rim. A whiff of VA dissipated rapidly to unfurl a deep, rich, mature bouquet of black cherry, blackcurrant & dark plum in unison, with suggestions of wet earth, mineral, cigar box, black tea, graphite, charcoal, leather, truffles, spice, toast & smoke; much later, some tertiary notes emerged. Fullish, deep, intense & fairly concentrated, dense, lush & smooth, dry & rich with some remnant gentle tannins, massive ripe extracts & soft acidity maintaining integrity & symmetry, leading to a delicious wine of excellent mouthfeel & remarkable density. Long complex & dry finish. A well kept bottle or one in better condition should warrant a higher score.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This bottle was more than fully mature, with serious brickng in its color. Better on the complex nose, with its truffle, stone, plum, earth, smoke, cigar box and cola scents than on the palate. While the texture is pure softness, coupled with the patina of age, the fruit is fading, leaving you with soft, earthy plums and cherries. Drink up if you are lucky enough to have a bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Cheval Blanc tasting (30 different vintages) at the Rheingau Gourmet Festival 2014: rubin red color; complex bouquet with prominent truffle and smoke aromas; lots of truffles in the mouth as well; medium body.
1st class claret from the right bank. Reminded me of the 1961 Latour. Undoubtedly a great wine.
Vintages 3rd flight: 1947-1950-1952-1953-1961
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
from a nice looking bottle with a high shoulder fill, this wine had a red/purple center and oranging rims. The high intensity nose showed blackberries, fruitcake, brown spices, and some Provencal herbs.
In the mouth, this wine was suave and sophisticated with a great lush mouthfeel and no edges. It was rich without being heavy. In other words, it was beautifully balanced and had great length.
This wine may have suffered a little bit from being paired against older, even more ready to drink wines. It appears to be in the zone but will easily last for 10+ more years and may even get more exotic.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
VG black ruby color with a bit of fading. The nose is gorgeous with that incredible perfume of Cheval dirt with notes of black earth, chocolate and minerals. On the palate, this is fully mature and soft as a bunny and goes down like liquid silk with incredible flavors of black earth, smoky minerals and a herbaceous character. The finish is so seductive and smooth rather than complex with notes of tea leaves and the finest dark chocolate. It paired beautifully with the braised goat at the 4 Seasons in Geneva.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Berry Brothers bottling and the first one I have tried of the three bottles I bought a couple of year's ago at a Zachys auction. Cork came out whole and the immediate Cheval nose of leather, heather and cherries was already discernable. Poured straight from the bottle it was amazingly dark- looking like a wine from the 80s (in fact it was the same colour as the Gruaud Larose we had next). Wonderful deep nose- there was something for everyone- dark chocolate and cherries, leather, orange peel, jasmine and forest floor (in a good way). Black pu'er tea. In the mouth it was very well rounded and long. Waves of similiar flavours from the palate. Still faintly tannic which was a real surprise. Absolutely fantastic and is what a First Growth is all about. Shared with family and friends, especially my sister who went on to have a baby girl a week later.
A great shame that Cheval Blanc has now decided to commit brand suicide and price themselves above all other first growths when there quality has been so random between 1991-2008. If you buy it en primeur now you might as well count out half the cash and simply set it on fire because that is how much your en primeur Cheval will immediately depreciate! By far the cheapest first growth to buy in the secondary market. Great for drinkers, so long may it continue as a vainity project of a billionaire.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Not a virgin anymore - My first dinner at Bern's (Bern's Steakhouse, Tampa, FL): Dinner at Bern's. Superb nose of dark roasted black fruits with animal and toasty notes. A seamless richl flavored wine showcasing blackberries, cherries, and complex minerals qualities. Great balance and long persistant finish. Notes of underbrush, sea salt, and forest floor added subtle qualities. Only distractor was slightly thin quality in terms of mouth feel.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Second Night in Mecca (Berns): Full deep purple color with red/pink edges. Forward aroma of red fruit, cedar, and graphite with spicy licorice hints. Nice rich black friu on the palate with mineral, coffee, and briar notes. Very lithe and etheral next to the other 53s. Probably got an extra point or so from me for the label.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
ERI Pre-Auction Wine Tasting (San Francisco CA): Wine tasting. Great aromas of spice, mushroom and some lingering black fruit. Similar flavors, somewhat subtle, but quite long and and elegant.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark red with almost opaque core. Very, very narrow faint browning at the rim. Looked like a wine from the mid eighties. Mint aromas emerging from the glass. In the mouth the wine is strong and concentrated, but a bit tight and brutal. Nicely wide and well defined, incredibly dense, and packing lots of fruit. But just a bit too un-forgiving. Long finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Jim’s magnum. Excellent color. Massive bouquet. Extremely spicy, even roasted. Powerful. Old-fashioned. Yet balanced. The Cabernet Franc dominates, its two-thirds of the vignoble. Could even be confused with La Mission Haut-Brion. A real surprise. But undeniably great.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
DnP. Deep dark blackish red, slim yellow edge, 6. Wonderful generous complex bouquet of exotic spices, coffee, cocoa, chocolate, jasmin flowers, some barnyard, really delicious, +1h: even more pronounced and very intense bouquet. Harmonious palate, tannin, balanced, extremely long finish. This is what great Bdx is all about. Bravo
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
6/6/2022 - maaike2 wrote: 99 Points
From the many beautiful premier and 2 eme grand crus from 1953 from the left bank and the giants from the right bank that I have been able to drink, this was one of the most impressive wines ever. The color showed minor signs of browning. Incredible powerful and youthful, fruit forward with great tertiaire notes, earth, tobacco, spices. Round and enorm out length. This wine was a treat, but needs more year to reach its peak. Incredible. Many decades to go go!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/10/2020 - asgerG wrote: 98 Points
DnP. Dark deep red, slim yellow edge, 6. Wonderful complex bouquet, lots dark fruit, spicy, mocca, leather, jasmin flowers. I could go on. On the palate there is still tannin and freshness, intense but elegant, long long finish. Drink now but no hurry. It will keep for decades. This is what it’s all about.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
6/1/2019 - G_H wrote: 99 Points
Cheval Blanc Vertical ‘Chez Elke’ (Hotel Hohenzollern, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler): Stunner and so surprising! This even edged out the 47 that night (at least for me). Coffee, mocha, cassis, chocolate, incredibly dense wine with a long long finish. AMAZING!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/1/2019 - hartmarco wrote: 99 Points
Gorgeous gorgeous bottle. Wonderful aromas of coffee, mocca and cassis. Insanely powerful for its age with still significant tannins.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/26/2019 - nywine68 wrote: 96 Points
An Evening of Vinous Merriment and Majesty Among Friends (Craft, New York): An amazing nose. Very polished mouthfeel. The wine feels light on its feet but has the classic merlot flavor profile. Very nuanced and complex. Delicious
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/18/2019 - matage wrote: 96 Points
Decanted for close to an hour. Old leather, pencil shavings and some tight and with shy fruit (prune/black cherry) to start.
Opening up nicely and continues to evolve and improve for another 4 hours. High quality leather, rust/raw meat, spice, sweet tobacco.
Would have never guessed this could be 65 years of age if I had it blind. Very elegant and wonderfully integrated - one of the best wines I ever had the fortune to drink (as this luckily wasn't a mere tasting).
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/29/2018 - Jeff Leve wrote: 89 Points
Much better on the palate, with its lush textures, than on the nose, due to its strong nutty character. More than fully mature, if you are sitting on any, the wine is going to continue losing fruit from here.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
5/12/2018 - DrZett wrote: flawed
Chateau Cheval Blanc vs Chateau Angelus (Rare-Bordeaux-Weine, Wachtberg (Germany)): Bottle was flawed.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/13/2017 - cct wrote: 97 Points
A terrific mature nose. Stony fruit, saddle leather, tobacco, spice and pencil lead. Fully mature, with great balance, everything coming together to a greater whole. Beautiful texture, with a suppleness and great breadth. Seamless and harmonious. Complete. A privilege to drink.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/28/2017 - englishman's claret wrote: 94 Points
Broad, complex, classic Cheval nose with lots of Christmas & exotic spice, plum, prune. Not terribly intense, but so detailed. Couldn't be mistaken for anything other than Cheval. Much weaker on the palate, but I rate these older wines mostly on the nose as they can't be expected to have the same fruit density on the palate you'd see in the 85 or 86. I gambled on this mid-shoulder half bottle, but the price was right and I was pleased. I'd like to try this from magnum. From any format, though, I wouldn't wait.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/1/2017 - G_H Likes this wine: 95 Points
Farnsburg Rarities: Out of magnum: Herbs, candied sugar, celeriac, some vegetal notes, super dense, very long.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/2/2015 - AHVinoFile Likes this wine: 94 Points
[Château bottled; mhs,dc; leaky cork drawn in 1 piece; shriveled wet end, solid dry end] Amazingly deep dark garnet, orange rim. A whiff of VA dissipated rapidly to unfurl a deep, rich, mature bouquet of black cherry, blackcurrant & dark plum in unison, with suggestions of wet earth, mineral, cigar box, black tea, graphite, charcoal, leather, truffles, spice, toast & smoke; much later, some tertiary notes emerged. Fullish, deep, intense & fairly concentrated, dense, lush & smooth, dry & rich with some remnant gentle tannins, massive ripe extracts & soft acidity maintaining integrity & symmetry, leading to a delicious wine of excellent mouthfeel & remarkable density. Long complex & dry finish. A well kept bottle or one in better condition should warrant a higher score.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/20/2014 - Jeff Leve wrote: 93 Points
This bottle was more than fully mature, with serious brickng in its color. Better on the complex nose, with its truffle, stone, plum, earth, smoke, cigar box and cola scents than on the palate. While the texture is pure softness, coupled with the patina of age, the fruit is fading, leaving you with soft, earthy plums and cherries. Drink up if you are lucky enough to have a bottle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/8/2014 - Fatty Cat wrote: 95 Points
Cheval Blanc tasting (30 different vintages) at the Rheingau Gourmet Festival 2014: rubin red color; complex bouquet with prominent truffle and smoke aromas; lots of truffles in the mouth as well; medium body.
1st class claret from the right bank. Reminded me of the 1961 Latour. Undoubtedly a great wine.
Vintages 3rd flight: 1947-1950-1952-1953-1961
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/8/2014 - fclarity wrote: 95 Points
from a nice looking bottle with a high shoulder fill, this wine had a red/purple center and oranging rims. The high intensity nose showed blackberries, fruitcake, brown spices, and some Provencal herbs.
In the mouth, this wine was suave and sophisticated with a great lush mouthfeel and no edges. It was rich without being heavy. In other words, it was beautifully balanced and had great length.
This wine may have suffered a little bit from being paired against older, even more ready to drink wines. It appears to be in the zone but will easily last for 10+ more years and may even get more exotic.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/5/2014 - dream Likes this wine: 95 Points
VG black ruby color with a bit of fading. The nose is gorgeous with that incredible perfume of Cheval dirt with notes of black earth, chocolate and minerals. On the palate, this is fully mature and soft as a bunny and goes down like liquid silk with incredible flavors of black earth, smoky minerals and a herbaceous character. The finish is so seductive and smooth rather than complex with notes of tea leaves and the finest dark chocolate. It paired beautifully with the braised goat at the 4 Seasons in Geneva.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/19/2013 - Blake Brown Does not like this wine: 74 Points
well past peaking and under performing to me for what it was most likely offering a few years back.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/23/2012 - Vinfauv wrote: 70 Points
Bought from K&L - totally bad, like thin port
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/13/2012 - dchain wrote: 96 Points
Berry Brothers bottling and the first one I have tried of the three bottles I bought a couple of year's ago at a Zachys auction. Cork came out whole and the immediate Cheval nose of leather, heather and cherries was already discernable. Poured straight from the bottle it was amazingly dark- looking like a wine from the 80s (in fact it was the same colour as the Gruaud Larose we had next). Wonderful deep nose- there was something for everyone- dark chocolate and cherries, leather, orange peel, jasmine and forest floor (in a good way). Black pu'er tea. In the mouth it was very well rounded and long. Waves of similiar flavours from the palate. Still faintly tannic which was a real surprise. Absolutely fantastic and is what a First Growth is all about. Shared with family and friends, especially my sister who went on to have a baby girl a week later.
A great shame that Cheval Blanc has now decided to commit brand suicide and price themselves above all other first growths when there quality has been so random between 1991-2008. If you buy it en primeur now you might as well count out half the cash and simply set it on fire because that is how much your en primeur Cheval will immediately depreciate! By far the cheapest first growth to buy in the secondary market. Great for drinkers, so long may it continue as a vainity project of a billionaire.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/26/2008 - 60ouvrees wrote:
From magnum. This was very good but couldn' t compete with the '71 Petrus in my opinion. Others were more impressed.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/3/2007 - KenK wrote: 94 Points
Not a virgin anymore - My first dinner at Bern's (Bern's Steakhouse, Tampa, FL): Dinner at Bern's. Superb nose of dark roasted black fruits with animal and toasty notes. A seamless richl flavored wine showcasing blackberries, cherries, and complex minerals qualities. Great balance and long persistant finish. Notes of underbrush, sea salt, and forest floor added subtle qualities. Only distractor was slightly thin quality in terms of mouth feel.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/2/2007 - winefool wrote: 95 Points
Second Night in Mecca (Berns): Full deep purple color with red/pink edges. Forward aroma of red fruit, cedar, and graphite with spicy licorice hints. Nice rich black friu on the palate with mineral, coffee, and briar notes. Very lithe and etheral next to the other 53s. Probably got an extra point or so from me for the label.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/22/2007 - G SQUARED wrote: 95 Points
Dinner at Bern's. Best Bordeaux of the night for me. Such grace, such elegance, such lovely ripe fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/16/2004 - Burgundy Al wrote: 93 Points
ERI Pre-Auction Wine Tasting (San Francisco CA): Wine tasting. Great aromas of spice, mushroom and some lingering black fruit. Similar flavors, somewhat subtle, but quite long and and elegant.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/3/2003 - Joe Belmaati wrote: 93 Points
Dark red with almost opaque core. Very, very narrow faint browning at the rim. Looked like a wine from the mid eighties. Mint aromas emerging from the glass. In the mouth the wine is strong and concentrated, but a bit tight and brutal. Nicely wide and well defined, incredibly dense, and packing lots of fruit. But just a bit too un-forgiving. Long finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/1/1997 - sdr Likes this wine: 97 Points
Jim’s magnum. Excellent color. Massive bouquet. Extremely spicy, even roasted. Powerful. Old-fashioned. Yet balanced. The Cabernet Franc dominates, its two-thirds of the vignoble. Could even be confused with La Mission Haut-Brion. A real surprise. But undeniably great.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/1/1989 - sdr wrote: flawed
Half bottle. Remarkably dark. Varnish. Bitter. Volatile acidity.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/17/1986 - asgerG wrote: 100 Points
DnP. Deep dark blackish red, slim yellow edge, 6. Wonderful generous complex bouquet of exotic spices, coffee, cocoa, chocolate, jasmin flowers, some barnyard, really delicious, +1h: even more pronounced and very intense bouquet. Harmonious palate, tannin, balanced, extremely long finish. This is what great Bdx is all about. Bravo
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/1/1986 - sdr wrote: 85 Points
Good color for age. Beautiful bouquet - for 5 minutes. Faded and became leathery. Light. Somewhat interesting but well past its best.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment