During a 2002 vs. 2012 tasting. This did not really shine tonight. Right after opening it was tight and tannic. We decanted it and gave it 2h. Improved a little from there but stayed rather uneventful. Lovely CabFranc nose with dark fruit and earthy elements but not "First Growth ooph". I guess the sub-par 2002 vintage cannot hide here...
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Decanted 2hr30. Quite a deep tight nose with a real note of aniseed, garrigue, lavender. Palate is full with masses of deep red rich fruit, fine tannins and good fresh acidity - excellent balance. Long persistence but feels young and in need of more time in the glass. This wine has so much depth with layers opening up as it develops in the glass. Drink now-2035+
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Blind tasting with the three amigos (chez moi): my oh my. This was singing from the get go and only got better with time in the decanter. Seamless palate with fruit, intensity, but also structure, freshness and some nice Christmas spice and earthy notes to go with the plums, dark cherries, blackberries and dark chocolate. WOTN. no doubt.
(Bordeaux 2002 tasting) Lovely fullish nose. Dense and dark fruit. Plum and black currant. Cigarre, pepper and some fresh bell pepper notes. The cabernet franc reveals itself. But the complexity is greatest of the 2002's tasted. Fullish, dense and tannic palate. Ready to go, but can gain further complexity with aging. Impeccable balance. Very good grip, very good concentration. Lovely Bdx character. Gravelly finish. Together with Mouton my winner of the night. Those two were the only wines with enough stuffing to be called great.
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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: This showed quite nice with lots of quite ripe red fruit, a good terroir expression with crushed rocks, gravel and some barnyard notes. Quite nice aromatic profile with good precision but not overly deep or concentrated and one of the lesser Chevals in terms of softness and harmony. Anyway a good wine, especially for such a subpar vintage.
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Chateau Cheval Blanc - 30 year vertical (1949-2015) tasted blind: Nose of strawberry, pepper, spices, licorice, good complexity. The palate is light, also here the off-vintage cannot fully hide but the overall package was still impressive due to the elegance and complexity.
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Decant for 20 minutes - aroma of leather and spicy on the palette; strong tannins. After 10mins more, greater complexity - plums, liquorice, cedar wood, dark berries with leather and spice as last notes; rounder tannins and good finish
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Medium bodied, firm, spicy, classic style here, with a floral and peppery edge to all the red fruits, earth and tobacco. The wine ends with a slightly dilute, fresh, bright plummy finish. While successful for the vintage, this is not a very strong Cheval Blanc.
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Decanted 90 minutes. Incredible intense nose. Chewy leather, blackcurrants, tobacco. Super. Palate full of life & vibrant. Firm tannins too but fine. Good firm acid. Fruits are blackberries, brambles. Some minerality there too. Super. Drink 2015-30
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At age 10 still a baby, young and full of power. This wine needs time but already now shows beautiful fruit a good concentration and ripe berries. Really nice
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Blind tasted at our Haut Brion lunch at van Baerle in Amsterdam with Frits, Steven, and Arjen on 4th of July weekend. So this was my pirate for the day and back up wine, and came in handy to save face when the 2000 HB I brought was better served to the flowers as fertilizer. This Cheval Blanc surprised everyone. First that it was right bank, everyone was left. Then that it was 2002 and CB. Lots of friut, smooth tannins, purple color, coffee mocha nose (perhaps leading them all to Cos). I loved it. After the 85 HB and the 05 Smith, it was my 3rd favorite that day. It's drink much better now that the Cheval Blanc '01 which is still a bit austere and too much acidity, whereas the 2002 is more round, balanced, and ready to drink. Glad that I have 4 bottles left.
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Horizontale PC 2002 Nez sanguin, avec du cèdre, du cassis, un peu de poivron, subtil. Très belle bouche, souple et élégante, un vin frais, juteux et savoureux, avec beaucoup de finesse. J’aime beaucoup ce vin authentique et franc, sans fioritures, délicieux. Wow! 94 pts
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Another weekend of Excess; 8/21/2009-8/24/2009 (Chicagoland): Decanted for 1hr. Pretty nose of red fruits with cigar box and an herbal note. Some nice density on the palate with good acidity throughout and a mostly mineral finish. Very fine tannins.
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Balanced and clean for an '02. Especially nice nose - exotic dark fruits and tobacco. Full, weighty mouthfeel and texture. Clean, pretty wine. Finer tannins than most '02s show, and not lacking at all in density. Very good.
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Utterly smooth, and very approachable. This cheval blanc give off aromas of graphite, dark black and blueberry, and subtle oak. The taste is medium to almost full bodied and very balanced. The minerality give way to dark forest fruit and sage, and then the gravel and slate take over the hindpalate. The finish was moderate. Great wine from a moderate year.
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Drank to celebrate getting my book published. Was a well balanced wine with minerals, slate, tobacco, and restrained fruit, the finish was layered and moderate, medium bodied, with silky tannin structure. Very nice wine for an off year.
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This is a beautiful wine. Strong aromas of cigar box/tobacco with some minerality lingering in the background. Palate shows tremendous balance of acidity and silky tannins. Soft, rounded, and incredible mouthfeel with lovely fruit. Multiple layers. Moderate finish that lingers. Oh to have 200+ dollars just sitting around to buy more.
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Cheval Blanc Vertical (Craftsteak): Oaky nose like antique furniture. Slick-textured, glossy fruit and muscular tannin somehow coexist. Thick in body. Give this time to come together.
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2002 Bordeaux (Garagiste, Seattle, WA): Dark garnet/purple in color and with nice body. Earthy dark fruits on the nose. On the palate, black fruits and a touch of cedar. Very well balanced with a long, delicious finish.
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Garagiste 2002 Bordeaux Tasting (Garagiste Warehouse, Seattle, WA): Dark purple without aging. Nose somewhat closed. A touch of medicine both on the nose and palate, but also some coffee, sweet tar. The midpalate seemed a bit hollow, but the persistent finish seemed to make up for it a bit. Not my favorite.
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11/4/2023 - Firebird94 wrote:
Incredible - perfectly balanced and delicious
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4/11/2023 - burlingtonm wrote: 91 Points
Vertical from 1966 to 2014 at Wine Watch: not bad but not one of the better wines of the evening and reflected this underwhelming vintage.
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2/17/2023 - Mulvk Likes this wine: 91 Points
Red fruit, tobacco, acid. Try next bottle 5years
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4/28/2022 - Collector1855 wrote: 92 Points
During a 2002 vs. 2012 tasting. This did not really shine tonight. Right after opening it was tight and tannic. We decanted it and gave it 2h. Improved a little from there but stayed rather uneventful. Lovely CabFranc nose with dark fruit and earthy elements but not "First Growth ooph". I guess the sub-par 2002 vintage cannot hide here...
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3/25/2022 - canan wrote: 93 Points
BYO (Michaels place): Classic, clean and pure flavors. Lovely and probably at its peak. I don't see this improving as it is now.
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7/7/2021 - GNBB wrote: 95 Points
Decanted 2hr30. Quite a deep tight nose with a real note of aniseed, garrigue, lavender. Palate is full with masses of deep red rich fruit, fine tannins and good fresh acidity - excellent balance. Long persistence but feels young and in need of more time in the glass. This wine has so much depth with layers opening up as it develops in the glass. Drink now-2035+
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7/3/2021 - Omar Khayyam Likes this wine: 96 Points
Blind tasting with the three amigos (chez moi): my oh my. This was singing from the get go and only got better with time in the decanter. Seamless palate with fruit, intensity, but also structure, freshness and some nice Christmas spice and earthy notes to go with the plums, dark cherries, blackberries and dark chocolate. WOTN. no doubt.
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12/5/2020 - Argrath wrote: 95 Points
(Bordeaux 2002 tasting)
Lovely fullish nose. Dense and dark fruit. Plum and black currant. Cigarre, pepper and some fresh bell pepper notes. The cabernet franc reveals itself. But the complexity is greatest of the 2002's tasted.
Fullish, dense and tannic palate. Ready to go, but can gain further complexity with aging. Impeccable balance. Very good grip, very good concentration. Lovely Bdx character. Gravelly finish.
Together with Mouton my winner of the night. Those two were the only wines with enough stuffing to be called great.
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3/29/2020 - n2wine Likes this wine: 94 Points
Subtle flavors. Leather aromas. Velvety. Fantastic wine.
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12/16/2019 - Cailles wrote: 93 Points
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: This showed quite nice with lots of quite ripe red fruit, a good terroir expression with crushed rocks, gravel and some barnyard notes. Quite nice aromatic profile with good precision but not overly deep or concentrated and one of the lesser Chevals in terms of softness and harmony. Anyway a good wine, especially for such a subpar vintage.
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11/29/2019 - Collector1855 wrote: 95 Points
Chateau Cheval Blanc - 30 year vertical (1949-2015) tasted blind: Nose of strawberry, pepper, spices, licorice, good complexity. The palate is light, also here the off-vintage cannot fully hide but the overall package was still impressive due to the elegance and complexity.
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4/20/2019 - jacgee Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decant for 20 minutes - aroma of leather and spicy on the palette; strong tannins. After 10mins more, greater complexity - plums, liquorice, cedar wood, dark berries with leather and spice as last notes; rounder tannins and good finish
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12/14/2018 - fcxj wrote: 92 Points
On the lighter side, enjoyed the fruit. From 18L.
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8/10/2016 - Jeff Leve wrote: 91 Points
Medium bodied, firm, spicy, classic style here, with a floral and peppery edge to all the red fruits, earth and tobacco. The wine ends with a slightly dilute, fresh, bright plummy finish. While successful for the vintage, this is not a very strong Cheval Blanc.
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6/18/2015 - GNBB wrote: 96 Points
Decanted 90 minutes. Incredible intense nose. Chewy leather, blackcurrants, tobacco. Super. Palate full of life & vibrant. Firm tannins too but fine. Good firm acid. Fruits are blackberries, brambles. Some minerality there too. Super. Drink 2015-30
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3/14/2015 - RayOB wrote: 92 Points
Drank at Riva
A real beauty for an '02 with just a small amount of powdery tannins on the palate. I think the '01 trumps this.
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3/28/2012 - G_H wrote: 92 Points
At age 10 still a baby, young and full of power. This wine needs time but already now shows beautiful fruit a good concentration and ripe berries. Really nice
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8/14/2011 - rjlud wrote: 93 Points
Blind tasted at our Haut Brion lunch at van Baerle in Amsterdam with Frits, Steven, and Arjen on 4th of July weekend. So this was my pirate for the day and back up wine, and came in handy to save face when the 2000 HB I brought was better served to the flowers as fertilizer. This Cheval Blanc surprised everyone. First that it was right bank, everyone was left. Then that it was 2002 and CB. Lots of friut, smooth tannins, purple color, coffee mocha nose (perhaps leading them all to Cos). I loved it. After the 85 HB and the 05 Smith, it was my 3rd favorite that day. It's drink much better now that the Cheval Blanc '01 which is still a bit austere and too much acidity, whereas the 2002 is more round, balanced, and ready to drink. Glad that I have 4 bottles left.
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1/21/2011 - d'Artagnan wrote: 94 Points
Horizontale PC 2002
Nez sanguin, avec du cèdre, du cassis, un peu de poivron, subtil.
Très belle bouche, souple et élégante, un vin frais, juteux et savoureux, avec beaucoup de finesse. J’aime beaucoup ce vin authentique et franc, sans fioritures, délicieux. Wow! 94 pts
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8/24/2009 - MatthewF wrote:
Another weekend of Excess; 8/21/2009-8/24/2009 (Chicagoland): Decanted for 1hr. Pretty nose of red fruits with cigar box and an herbal note. Some nice density on the palate with good acidity throughout and a mostly mineral finish. Very fine tannins.
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5/30/2009 - beezer6 wrote: 94 Points
Saturday Tasting Group (Knightsbridge Wine Shop (Northbrook, IL)): Beautiful weightly effort showing volcanic red fruit.
Lengthy palate with layers of dark fruit, earth and crushed rock.
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5/30/2009 - psmith wrote:
Balanced and clean for an '02. Especially nice nose - exotic dark fruits and tobacco. Full, weighty mouthfeel and texture. Clean, pretty wine. Finer tannins than most '02s show, and not lacking at all in density. Very good.
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9/4/2008 - woodofnor wrote:
돈이 없어서 팔았다.ㅠ
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8/14/2008 - mmyette wrote: 94 Points
Utterly smooth, and very approachable. This cheval blanc give off aromas of graphite, dark black and blueberry, and subtle oak. The taste is medium to almost full bodied and very balanced. The minerality give way to dark forest fruit and sage, and then the gravel and slate take over the hindpalate. The finish was moderate. Great wine from a moderate year.
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9/25/2007 - mmyette wrote: 94 Points
Drank to celebrate getting my book published. Was a well balanced wine with minerals, slate, tobacco, and restrained fruit, the finish was layered and moderate, medium bodied, with silky tannin structure. Very nice wine for an off year.
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9/25/2007 - J-Sho wrote: 94 Points
This is a beautiful wine. Strong aromas of cigar box/tobacco with some minerality lingering in the background. Palate shows tremendous balance of acidity and silky tannins. Soft, rounded, and incredible mouthfeel with lovely fruit. Multiple layers. Moderate finish that lingers. Oh to have 200+ dollars just sitting around to buy more.
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7/18/2007 - Keith Levenberg wrote: 86 Points
Cheval Blanc Vertical (Craftsteak): Oaky nose like antique furniture. Slick-textured, glossy fruit and muscular tannin somehow coexist. Thick in body. Give this time to come together.
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7/16/2005 - DFC wrote: 93 Points
2002 Bordeaux (Garagiste, Seattle, WA): Dark garnet/purple in color and with nice body. Earthy dark fruits on the nose. On the palate, black fruits and a touch of cedar. Very well balanced with a long, delicious finish.
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7/16/2005 - Wusman wrote: 87 Points
Garagiste 2002 Bordeaux Tasting (Garagiste Warehouse, Seattle, WA): Dark purple without aging. Nose somewhat closed. A touch of medicine both on the nose and palate, but also some coffee, sweet tar. The midpalate seemed a bit hollow, but the persistent finish seemed to make up for it a bit. Not my favorite.
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