A private Cheval Blanc tasting (Bolomey Wine Imports, Amsterdam, NL): Not decanted. Marvellous nose, complete and aromatic and fresh, complex and harmonious, crushed red berries, whiff of top quality oak; balanced and elegant palate, fresh and energetic, concentration without weight, very finely judged tannins, exemplary purity of flavour; youthful finish will expand with time. Outstanding, great precision, not a hair out of place. Provisional score with upward potential.
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By the glass from a single bottle. Just a few drops. This is, for many, the first choice in Bordeaux when looking for some Calvinism austerity, dryness and balance with smoked fruit. Drinking this young lady, you can immediately perceive the elegant notes on the nose and the aristocratic texture that leads you through a magnificent freshness to a long tannic finish. It needs to be rounded up, but at the moment it is already delicious and can only get better in the next decades, or centuries. Certainly at the height of 2005.
Por copas de una única botella. Sólo unas pocas gotas. Esta es, para muchos, la primera opción en Burdeos cuando buscas la austeridad protestante, la sequedad y el equilibrio con la fruta ahumada. Bebiendo esta jovencita, enseguida se perciben las notas elegantes en nariz y la textura aristocrática que te conduce mediante una magnífica frescura a un largo final tánico. Necesita redondearse pero en estos momentos ya es deliciosa y sólo puede mejorar en las próximas décadas o siglos. Sin duda a la altura del 2005.
Had it about 3 weeks ago. Don't remember everything. It was a lovely soft sensuous wine. But a little too soft for me. This is only the second bottle of Cheval that I have had, the other was a 1982 a number of years ago. That didn't blow me away either. I think the Wine is way overpriced. I am A bigger type of wine guy. Cabernets. This was up against a 2007 Opus and 2010 Cos d'Estournel. To me the Cos at $250 a bottle better wine much better value. The Opus was a year or two past its prime. Remember Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Better from bottle than barrel, the wine is refined, elegant and fresh. Here is a wine of precision. The fruit is perfect in every way. There are no flaws, hard edges or even a hair out of place. It is going to need time in the cellar to soften, fill out and sex up. But this is going to hit that high level, you just need to be patient. Give it 12-15 years before opening a bottle. The wine was made using 59.5% Merlot, 37.5% Cabernet Franc and 3.3% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the first vintage in 10 years that any Cabernet Sauvignon was used in the blend.
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Rose petals, spice, kirsch, earth, smoky black cherries, wet earth and forest leaves. On the palate, the wine is silky, pure, fresh and vibrant. There is an elegance, charm, refinement and precision to this more structured, classic example of Cheval Blanc. You will want to age this for at least a decade before popping a bottle. The wine was made using 59.5% Merlot, 37.5% Cabernet Franc and 3.3% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the first vintage in 10 years that any Cabernet Sauvignon was used in the blend. The wine reached 14.25% alcohol with a pH of 3.67 and the harvest took place September 20 to October 12. The Grand Vin represents 77% of the harvest.
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5/9/2024 - fcxj wrote: 94 Points
Delightfully luscious, perhaps bit Californian?
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12/7/2023 - Xavier Auerbach wrote: 96 Points
A private Cheval Blanc tasting (Bolomey Wine Imports, Amsterdam, NL): Not decanted. Marvellous nose, complete and aromatic and fresh, complex and harmonious, crushed red berries, whiff of top quality oak; balanced and elegant palate, fresh and energetic, concentration without weight, very finely judged tannins, exemplary purity of flavour; youthful finish will expand with time. Outstanding, great precision, not a hair out of place. Provisional score with upward potential.
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6/12/2022 - Harley1199 Likes this wine: 95 Points
By the glass from a single bottle. Just a few drops.
This is, for many, the first choice in Bordeaux when looking for some Calvinism austerity, dryness and balance with smoked fruit. Drinking this young lady, you can immediately perceive the elegant notes on the nose and the aristocratic texture that leads you through a magnificent freshness to a long tannic finish. It needs to be rounded up, but at the moment it is already delicious and can only get better in the next decades, or centuries. Certainly at the height of 2005.
Por copas de una única botella. Sólo unas pocas gotas.
Esta es, para muchos, la primera opción en Burdeos cuando buscas la austeridad protestante, la sequedad y el equilibrio con la fruta ahumada. Bebiendo esta jovencita, enseguida se perciben las notas elegantes en nariz y la textura aristocrática que te conduce mediante una magnífica frescura a un largo final tánico. Necesita redondearse pero en estos momentos ya es deliciosa y sólo puede mejorar en las próximas décadas o siglos. Sin duda a la altura del 2005.
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12/30/2020 - The Wine Geek Likes this wine: 92 Points
Had it about 3 weeks ago. Don't remember everything. It was a lovely soft sensuous wine. But a little too soft for me. This is only the second bottle of Cheval that I have had, the other was a 1982 a number of years ago. That didn't blow me away either. I think the Wine is way overpriced. I am A bigger type of wine guy. Cabernets. This was up against a 2007 Opus and 2010 Cos d'Estournel. To me the Cos at $250 a bottle better wine much better value. The Opus was a year or two past its prime. Remember Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
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11/9/2019 - jmoon Likes this wine: 98 Points
Fresh herbaceous nose, you can really smell the cab franc, follows through to palette. Ripe delicious fruit but clean velvety powerful and fresh.
Opened 11am, double decanted back into bottle no cork, served at 7pm... I think this was key to the accessibility of this young wine.
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9/21/2019 - Jeff Leve wrote: 98 Points
Better from bottle than barrel, the wine is refined, elegant and fresh. Here is a wine of precision. The fruit is perfect in every way. There are no flaws, hard edges or even a hair out of place. It is going to need time in the cellar to soften, fill out and sex up. But this is going to hit that high level, you just need to be patient. Give it 12-15 years before opening a bottle. The wine was made using 59.5% Merlot, 37.5% Cabernet Franc and 3.3% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the first vintage in 10 years that any Cabernet Sauvignon was used in the blend.
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4/29/2017 - Jeff Leve wrote: 97 Points
Rose petals, spice, kirsch, earth, smoky black cherries, wet earth and forest leaves. On the palate, the wine is silky, pure, fresh and vibrant. There is an elegance, charm, refinement and precision to this more structured, classic example of Cheval Blanc. You will want to age this for at least a decade before popping a bottle. The wine was made using 59.5% Merlot, 37.5% Cabernet Franc and 3.3% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the first vintage in 10 years that any Cabernet Sauvignon was used in the blend. The wine reached 14.25% alcohol with a pH of 3.67 and the harvest took place September 20 to October 12. The Grand Vin represents 77% of the harvest.
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