Cheval Blanc Vertical Tasting at Wine Watch going back to 1949
Friday, April 13, 2012 - 07:00 PM
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Maya (advising Miles against being overly fussy about when he will drink a vintage Bordeaux wine he owns): "You know, the day you open a '61 Cheval Blanc … that's the special occasion."
Whenever I get a legendary wine like the 1949 Cheval Blanc I am more interested in drinking the wine than selling it, so I immediately put a tasting on the calendar for this occasion. Cheval Blanc is one of the most unique wines in all of Bordeaux, not only because of its blend which is very high in Cabernet Franc but also because of its location, which is technically Pomerol according to its western border. We will be experiencing eight vintages of this top growth of Saint Emilion along with a special tasting menu prepared by Wine Watch Catering’s Toni Lampasone. The fee for this tasting is $450 per person + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463.
Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion Vertical Tasting
Friday April 13th
7pm
1949 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion
(100 Points) Although the extraordinary 1949 does not have the port-like unctuosity and heaviness of the 1947, it is an enormously rich, concentrated wine. It is better-balanced than the heavyweight 1947, yet as complex and extraordinary, both from an aromatic and flavor perspective. The wine exhibits a phenomenally fragrant bouquet of overripe red and black fruits, cedar, Asian spices, and minerals. Decadently rich and jammy, it has an amazing plum/garnet color with very little amber or rust at the edge. It may out-live the heavier, thicker, more exotic 1947. Wine Advocate #95, Oct 1994
1953 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion
(95 Points) In the fifties, the greatest vintage is the 1953. I am sure this wine has been fully mature for at least 15-20 years. Nevertheless, it has held its magic for that considerable period, and is still the most fragrant, and from an aromatic perspective, the most compelling Cheval Blanc I have ever tasted. Perhaps the 1982 will turn out to be this profoundly perfumed. It is not a blockbuster, but is incredibly seductive, and so soft and silky. Last tasted 3/96 Bordeaux Book, 3rd Edition, Jan 1998
1970 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion
(91 Points) This vintage shows notable bottle variation at Cheval; we had a good one, fragrant with plum, floral and spice aromas, round and velvety on the palate, balanced and long. Drink now through 2006.--Cheval-Blanc vertical. –TM Wine Spectator Issue: Mar 31, 1999
1982 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion
(96 Points) All in harmony. Deserves its reputation. Dark ruby. Smoke, black truffle, berry and cherry. Full-bodied, velvety and fine.--Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2005. –JS Wine Spectator Issue: Jun 30, 2001
1985 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion
(92 Points) Beginning to show maturity. Spice and cedar aromas give way to a silky texture and flavors of tobacco and roasted fruits. Drink or hold.--Cheval-Blanc vertical. –TM Wine Spectator Issue: Mar 31, 1999
1990 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion
(98+ Points) One of my favorite Cheval Blancs, it remains to be seen if the 1998, 2000, and 2008 will live up to this offering. It is the ripest wine of the aforementioned vintages, with a complex bouquet of tobacco leaf, Christmas fruitcake, sweet black fruits, bordering on fig and plum, but no hint of overripeness, and notions of new saddle leather, mint, and incense. The gorgeously expressive aromatics are followed by a full-bodied wine revealing abundant glycerin as well as elevated alcohol, but it is not hot, and nothing is out of place. Expansive, rich, and revealing the nuances and complexity that come from bottle age, it is at its peak of maturity where it should remain for another 10-15 years. Release price: ($3000.00/case) Wine Advocate #183, Jun 2009
1996 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion
(91 Points) Medium ruby, with a garnet edge. Aromas of plum and fresh herbs, such as basil, that turn to cedar and cigar box. Full-bodied, with soft, silky tannins. Long and flavorful, with subtle chocolate, berry and light coffee aftertaste. Gorgeous.--'95/'96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2007. –JS Wine Spectator Issue: Web Only - 2007
1999 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion
(93 Points) The complex, explosively fragrant 1999 Cheval Blanc is a blend of 59% Merlot and 41% Cabernet Franc. It is already showing well, which is a good sign for a wine that traditionally is reserved early in life, but puts on weight and richness in the bottle. Stylistically, this wine is probably cut from the same mold as vintages such as 1985, 1966, and 1962. The color is a dense ruby with purple nuances. Once past the blockbuster bouquet of menthol, leather, black fruits, licorice, and mocha, the wine reveals medium body, extraordinary elegance, purity, and sweet, harmonious flavors with no hard edges. This is a seamless beauty of finesse, charm, and concentration. The 1999 is an exciting Cheval Blanc to drink relatively young. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2022. Wine Advocate #140, Apr 2002
Menu
Crispy Duck Confit with mole sauce and English pea succotash
Sliced NY Sirloin with double stuffed bacon cheddar potatoes
Bacon covered in Chocolate served with a selection of cheese
A bit about Cheval Blanc:
f you were to ask any wine lover what the finest Saint-Emilion is today, he would be most likely to reply Cheval Blanc. This was not always the case. Once Château Ausone enjoyed a greater reputation, while Château Figeac was once considered the best wine among the properties of the Saint-Emilion Graves. Cheval Blanc's reputation in England was certainly made by the 1921 vintage, and from that time onwards it was spoken of in the same terms as the first growths of the 1855 Classification. However, it did not achieve equality of price with those wines until after the Second World War. When the first official classification of Saint-Emilion was made by the INAO in 1955, Cheval Blanc and Ausone were set apart by themselves among the dozen Premiers Grands Crus of Saint-Emilion.
The property once formed part of Figeac until the nineteenth century - the Cheval Blanc portion was sold in 1852. It has since been owned for many generations by the Fourcaud-Laussac family, who have made it more famous than the property from which it sprang. The heiress of the family married Jacques Hébrard, the towering and obsessed administrator who brought Cheval Blanc to new heights in the 1980's. Following Hébrard in 1989, Bernard Grandchamp was brought in to run the estate. However, Grandchamp resigned his position a year later, fueling speculation of family in-fighting about the future of Cheval Blanc. The château itself is a modest but charming house with small turrets and pleasing proportions which, together with its white palette, give the appearance of a summer villa. But this is now completely overshadowed by the palatial new chai which more truly reflects the present prestige of Cheval Blanc. For many years the wines had to be moved (during the second year in cask) to a cellar in Libourne where the bottling was allowed to take place -the former chai at Cheval Blanc was simply too small to accommodate all the wine.
On the open plateau of the Graves Saint-Emilion, the properties tend to be larger than those that crowd the cramped hillsides around the ramparts of Saint-Emilion, and Cheval Blanc is no exception to this. The large vineyard of 82 acres produces as much as 14,000 cases annually. It is one of the curiosities of Cheval Blanc that the soil and sub-soil contain almost every variation to be found in the region; and this, no doubt, contributes to the unique style of the wine. With Figeac, Cheval Blanc has the lion's share of the gravelly outcrops that give this district its name. In addition, a proportion of ungrafted vines have been maintained in the vineyard, and the proprietors believe this to be an important factor in preserving quality.
Cheval Blanc is undoubtedly one of Bordeaux's greatest and unique wines. For most of this century it has sat alone at the top of Saint-Emilion's hierarchy - representing the finest wine this appellation can produce. (This situation has been altered slightly by the renaissance began at nearby Château Ausone in the mid 1970's - now Cheval Blanc has had to share the limelight.) Sitting on the Pomerol border in the Saint-Emilion Graves sector with only a ditch separating its vineyards from those of the great Pomerol châteaux of L'Evangile and La Conseillante, Cheval Blanc has often been characterized as making a wine that is as much a Pomerol as it is a Saint-Emilion. The distinctive choice of grape varieties used at Cheval Blanc, two-thirds Cabernet Franc and one-third Merlot, with a tiny parcel of old vines of Malbec, is highly unusual. No other major chateau uses this much Cabernet Franc. Cabernet Franc reaches its zenith in Cheval Blanc's gravelly, sandy, and clay soil that is underpinned by a bed of iron rock, producing an extremely rich, ripe, intense, viscous wine.
Among the "Big Eight" of Bordeaux, Cheval Blanc probably has the broadest window of drinkability. It is usually delicious when first bottled, and yet it has the ability in the top years to last and last. None of the Médoc first-growths nor Haut-Brion, Ausone, or Pétrus can claim to have such flexibility. According to Robert Parker, the world's foremost authority on Bordeaux wines, "only Haut-Brion comes closest to matching Cheval Blanc's early drinkability and precociousness along with the stuffing and overall balance and intensity to age for 20-30 years." The style of wine produced at Cheval Blanc has no doubt contributed to its immense popularity. Parker describes it thusly: "Dark ruby in color in the very good vintages, it is an opulently rich and fruity wine, full bodied, voluptuous, lush, and deceptively easy to drink when young. The bouquet is especially distinctive. At its best, Cheval Blanc is an even more fragrant wine than Margaux. Scents of minerals, menthol, exotic spices, tobacco, and intense, as well as superripe, black fruits can overwhelm the taster. Many tasters, fooled by its cunning show of precocious charm, falsely assume that it will not age well. In the big, rich vintages, Cheval Blanc evolves exceptionally well...Cheval Blanc can produce a decadently exotic wine of unbelievable depth and richness." David Peppercorn, one of England's foremost authorities on Bordeaux, has written: "It is indeed a stunning wine, not subtle, but winning admiration with its sheer beauty and animal vigor; it assails the palate in the way some of the French Impressionists assail the eye with the brilliance of their colors. It is a quality only matched in Bordeaux by Pétrus."
The great age of Cheval Blanc came after the war. It began badly, because half the 1945 crop, already much reduced in size, had to be pasteurized, due to volatile acidity. But then came a wonderful run of vintages: 1947, one of the most celebrated Bordeaux made since the war, soon commanded record prices because everyone wanted to have it in their cellars. To this day, the 1947 remains the greatest Bordeaux we have ever drunk - it has been very impressive on two recent occasions (once in 1993 and again in 1994). The 1948, overshadowed by its immediate predecessor, was robust and fine; 1949 was only a little behind the 1947, a great wine instead of a masterpiece. In a once in a lifetime vertical tasting of Cheval Blanc conducted in 1994 by the Hollywood Wine Society in Miami, Florida, we had an opportunity to sample 15 top vintages of Cheval Blanc from 1947 to 1990. We were awestruck by the amazing 1950 (an unheralded vintage) and the awesome 1955 - both were fat, rich, and concentrated with plenty of life still ahead of them. The 1964 and 1966 were also very impressive. Cheval Blanc was not a strong performer during the seventies - the 1970 and 1975 were disappointments considering the reputation of the vintage. However, with the increasing attention to quality and detail provided by administrator Jacques Hébrard, the quality of this wine - beginning with the 1979 vintage - became more consistent. Some critics feel that the three consecutive vintages of the early eighties - 1981, 1982, and 1983 - were the finest Cheval Blanc trilogy since the splendid wines of 1947, 1948, and 1949.
Chateau Cheval Blanc Available:
2001 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion
Price: $900 Sale $792
(93 Points) I was surprised by how soft, opulent, even voluptuous the 2001 Cheval Blanc performed out of bottle as this estate’s wines tend to shut down when young. Its deep ruby/purple color was accompanied by sweet aromas of cranberries, black currants, menthol, Asian spices, and underbrush. This seductive blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc reveals a lush sweetness, medium body, and ripe, well-integrated tannin. A racy effort filled with personality, it should be at its finest between 2007-2018. Wine Advocate #153, Jun 2004
2004 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion
Price: $712.50 Sale $627
(94 Points) Intense aromas of tar, blackberry and wet earth, with just a hint of tobacco and flowers. Full-bodied, chewy and long. Extracted, yet turns caressing and velvety in texture. Broad-shouldered and muscular for this estate. This is better than the 2000. Best after 2012. 3,500 cases made. –JS Wine Spectator Issue: Mar 31, 2007
2000 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion
Price: $1500 Sale $1320
Quantity in Stock: 4
(100 Points) This closed, backward blend of 53% Merlot and 47% Cabernet Franc boasts a saturated purple color along with a reticent but striking bouquet of blackberries, blueberries, truffles, and mocha. In spite of its tightness, aeration reveals scents of licorice, menthol, and saddle leather. Opulent and full-bodied, with low acidity, sweet tannin, and a 60-second finish, it is unquestionably as profound as the 1990 and 1982. I still believe the 2000 has the potential to be the most compelling Cheval Blanc since the mythical 1947 and 1949, but patience is required. It should merit a three digit score in 7-10 years, but it is closed at present. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2030+. Note: The score for this wine was 98 in The Wine Advocate but it is changed to 100 per Mr. Parker as of August, 2006.
1990 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion $850
Price: $1175.00 Sale $1034
Quantity in Stock: 1
(98+ Points) One of my favorite Cheval Blancs, it remains to be seen if the 1998, 2000, and 2008 will live up to this offering. It is the ripest wine of the aforementioned vintages, with a complex bouquet of tobacco leaf, Christmas fruitcake, sweet black fruits, bordering on fig and plum, but no hint of over ripeness, and notions of new saddle leather, mint, and incense. The gorgeously expressive aromatics are followed by a full-bodied wine revealing abundant glycerin as well as elevated alcohol, but it is not hot, and nothing is out of place. Expansive, rich, and revealing the nuances and complexity that come from bottle age, it is at its peak of maturity where it should remain for another 10-15 years. Release price: ($3000.00/case) Wine Advocate #183, Jun 2009
1996 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion
Price: $465.00 Sale $409.20
Quantity in Stock: 1
(91 Points) Medium ruby, with a garnet edge. Aromas of plum and fresh herbs, such as basil, that turn to cedar and cigar box. Full-bodied, with soft, silky tannins. Long and flavorful, with subtle chocolate, berry and light coffee aftertaste. Gorgeous.--'95/'96 Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2007. –JS Wine Spectator Issue: Web Only - 2007
1982 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion
Price: $1250.00 Sale $1100
Quantity in Stock: 1
(96 Points) All in harmony. Deserves its reputation. Dark ruby. Smoke, black truffle, berry and cherry. Full-bodied, velvety and fine.--Bordeaux retrospective. Best after 2005. –JS Wine Spectator Issue: Jun 30, 2001
1947 Chateau Cheval Blanc St. Emilion
Price: $17500.00 Sale $15400
Quantity in Stock: 1
