2018 Cheval Blanc Bordeaux Blend

Bordeaux Blend - 3L
$2,930.00
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REVIEWS

JL 100 JD 98 WA 98 TWI 98 WE 98 WS 97 DC 96 JS 96
JL 100

TheWineCellarInsider.com, March 2021

If awards were given out for sensuality, this gem would take the trophy. Incredibly sexy, with its velvet drenched textures, silky tannins and opulent personality, this wine stands out in a crowd. The nose, with its...
JD 98

jebdunnuck.com, March 2021

Showing beautifully from barrel and now from bottle, the 2018 Château Cheval Blanc is a final blend of 54% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon. It's a pure, classic Cheval Blanc in that it relies...
WA 98

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, March 2021

(98+ points) The 2018 Cheval Blanc is a blend of 54% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, with a 3.75 pH and 14.5% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs considerable swirling and air to releases...
TWI 98

The Wine Independent, February 2023

The 2018 Cheval Blanc is deep garnet purple in color. It drifts effortlessly out of the glass with scents of black cherry compote, boysenberry preserves, and anise, plus touches of cedar, pencil shavings, and kirsch...
WE 98

Wine Enthusiast, May 2021

The first thing that strikes about this wine is its massive density. The second is the richness of the structured Cabernet Franc that is such an important element in the blend. Weight is balanced by the intense fruits and...
WS 97

Wine Spectator, March 2021

This has the vintage's profile, with a sleek and slightly austere frame holding a core of cassis, bitter cherry and raspberry coulis notes tightly together while flashes of bay, dried anise and savory add range and...
DC 96

Decanter, January 2022

Lovely ripeness on the nose, full of dense Morello cherries and milk chocolate notes, this feels round and just very complete. It has a density on the palate immediately, voluminous with chalky, gentle gripping tannins...
JS 96

jamessuckling.com, June 2022

Deep, dense and chocolatey, this is a lush and concentrated St.-Emilion. Enormous depth of fine tannins here, and the lively acidity lifts all this beautifully on the almost opulent palate. Very long, surprisingly supple...

WINE DETAILS

Color & Type Red
Varietal Bordeaux Blend
Country France
Region Bordeaux
Sub-region Saint Emilion
Vintage 2018
Size 3L
Percent alcohol 14.5%
Closure Cork

Chateau Cheval Blanc is a Premier Grand Cru Classe “A” estate located near Pomerol, but within the commune of Saint-Emilion. Its 39 hectares are divided into forty-five plots. While most of the appellation's other famous estates have limestone soil, Cheval Blanc's soil is alluvial, with roughly equal proportions of gravel and clay.

The vineyard has an original combination of grape varieties: 49% Cabernet Franc, 47% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. Each plot has its own specific profile and, to a certain extent, are treated like separate vineyards because of differences in the age of the vines, grape variety, soil type, surface area, type of rootstock, etc. The combination of these many facets accounts for Cheval Blanc’s great complexity.

Archives show that vines have been grown at Cheval Blanc at least as far back as the 15th century, but the most prestigious part of Cheval Blanc's history can be dated from 1832 when the core plot of the present-day estate was purchased by Jean-Jacques Ducasse, President of the Libourne Trade Tribunal. Over the next twenty years, the purchase of plots belonging to Chateau Figeac led to the vineyard as we know it today.

The impressive 6,000 square-meter cellar adjacent to the chateau, designed by Christian de Portzamparc and inaugurated in June 2011, houses a state-of-the-art winemaking facility and features two enormous waves of white concrete that rise magnificently out of the ground. There is a garden of wild grasses atop an artificial hill, whose gracious curves are overlooked by the chateau. The wine cellar holds fifty-two concrete vats in six rows.

Formerly known as vin de Figeac, this wine was first sold under the name Cheval Blanc in 1852. The first gold medal won by Cheval Blanc came at the 1878 Universal Exhibition in Paris and that distinction appears on the label.

Each vineyard plot is vinified separately. At the start of fermentation, the juice is gently pumped over three times daily. As fermentation proceeds, pump-over frequency decreases and is eventually stopped when the desired level of extraction has been reached.

The young wine is aged 16 to 18 months in new French oak barrels. Six to seven different coopers are used to ensure complexity and harmony. During this period, the wine is racked by hand five to seven times. Blending takes place after the first three months.