 | 2020 Ch. Cheval Blanc - Saint Emilion 1er GCC | € 620,00 (€ 750,20) |
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« J’ai souvent comparé Cheval Blanc à quelque chose de textile, de tactile. Un cachemire à un ou deux fils. Mais jamais la rusticité ». Ook na dertig jaar aan het hoofd van Cheval Blanc blijft Pierre Lurton even bewogen door deze zijdezachte streling. Cheval Blanc is en blijft uniek. Dit terroir van 39 hectare bestaat uit een mozaïk aan percelen, ongewijzigd sinds de 19de Eeuw: Cheval Blanc deelt hellingen van graves met Figeac, een diagonaal van klei met Petrus en zand met La Dominique. We herkennen 10 bodemtypes op 44 percelen, maar vooral de beplanting is origineel: geen Cabernet Sauvignon maar 60% Bouchet of oude Cabernet Franc en 40% Merlot. Zo wilde het de eerste eigenaar in 1860. De bouchet bracht « une langue de fraîcheur au merlot. Comme si ce cabernet franc invitait le merlot à voyager à Cheval Blanc », besluit Pierre Lurton, die naargelang het wijnjaar opteert voor « Pomerol » met Merlot of « rive gauche » met Cabernet. “Cheval Blanc 2020 entre en bouche sans attendre, inflexible... sa qualité c’est sa droiture. Son élégance est peu habillée." Stalen werden dit jaar niet uitgestuurd maar Pierre-Olivier Clouet, beschrijft de wijn als “complex and complete, powerful and dense”. De sleutel van 2020 resideert in plukdata die de essentiële fraîcheur moesten behouden. 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc en 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. De prijs is even onweerstaanbaar als vorig jaar (2019) en zal de deur uitvliegen, zoveel is zeker. IN DE PERS 100 Jane Anson – janeanson.com (Februari 2023) Intense, indelible, with layer upon layer of blueberry, raspberry, pomegranate, fennel, liqourice, crayon, espresso, crushed rocks, just so much character and poise. The driest year at Cheval Blanc since 1959, with 71% of production from the 39ha estate in this wine, technical director Pierre Olivier Clouet. The first year that will not be bottled with Premier Grand Cru Classé A on the label since the ranking began, following its withdrawal from the ranking. That makes an interesting footnote for collectors I would imagine, but makes zero difference to the brilliance of what is in the bottle. 98-100 Jane Anson – decanter.com (Mei 2021) Spice, anis, rosemary, blackcurrant leaf, redcurrants, mint and peonies - the full array of aromatics are on display here, and there is an enveloping aspect to the fruit once you get to the body of the wine. The tannins are compact and powerful but they are wrapped in plump raspberry and blackberry brambled fruits. The wine feels full of life, with acidity that pulls the palate forward from the first moment, before austerity kicks in on the finish and closes things in, suggesting an extremely long life ahead. Hard to argue with this. 71% of overall production. The driest year at Cheval Blanc for 50 years (since 1959). Could go up after tasting in bottle, a potential 100 points. 98-100. Drinking Window 2028 - 2048 99 Antonio Galloni - vinous.com (Februari 2023) The 2020 Cheval Blanc is eternal, seamless and exceptionally beautiful. All the elements are so well put together. Rose petal, blood orange, raspberry jam and cinnamon all take shape in the glass. Above all else, the 2020 Cheval Blanc is a wine of mind-blowing balance. Hints of mocha, raspberry jam, pomegranate and spice emerge with time in the glass. Cheval is quite simply one of the truly great wines of the vintage. Drink 2030-2070. 97 Neal Martin - vinous.com (Februari 2023) The 2020 Cheval Blanc contains a little more Merlot than other vintages, probably anomalous to other estates on the Right Bank. This was bottled at the beginning of July. It has almost clinical delineation on the nose. The 2020 is extremely well-focused, with subtle pressed iris and violet scents embroidered into the dominantly black fruit - quite serious in style. The palate is medium-bodied with silky tannins, black fruit laced with blueberry, just a fint of brine and a composed, saline finish. It's a Cheval Blanc that will require a decade in bottle; not the most flamboyant in recent years, but it is intellectually satisfying without question. Drink 2028-2050. 96 William Kelley - robertparker.com (April 2023) The 2020 Cheval Blanc wafts from the glass with aromas of mulberries, plums and cherries mingled with hints of rose petals, licorice, sweet spices and lilac. Full-bodied, broad and voluptuous, it's layered and fleshy, with a ripe core of fruit, sweet tannins and a long, expansive finish. While purists will gravitate toward the purer and more precise and perfumed 2019, the 2020 will appeal to readers who love the richest, most powerful expressions of Cheval Blanc. Drink 2027-2053. One of Bordeaux's most complex terroirs, Cheval Blanc sits on the site of an ancient river delta, with (to generalize) clay-rich soils in the lower-lying parts where rivulets once flowed and gravel and sand elsewhere. This complexity is reflected, of course, in the resulting wine but also in how it is farmed and made, with thoughtful use of cover crops according to soil type and parcel-by-parcel vinification. A concerted effort is being made, moreover, to bring life back to the vineyard, with hedges of native species to act as wildlife corridors and fruit trees planted among the vines. The same attention to detail that's applied in the vineyards, for example with regard to developing and testing an in-house massal selection, is applied in the cellar, where cooperage trials are notable for their exigence. All of that shows in the glass. 98 Lisa Perrotti-Brown - thewineindependent.com (Maart 2023) 99 Ella Lister – lefigaro.fr (April 2023) "un vin majestueux" En retenue de prime abord, timide, tel un intello, pris dans ses livres, qui ne fait pas l’effort de vous saluer mais qui, quand vous échangez avec lui, dévoile un esprit fin et subtil. L’on décèle des notes profondes de fruits bleus bien frais, de bouton de rose, de tisane. En bouche, c’est la conversation drôle et spontanée qui s’ensuit. La fraîcheur laisse place à un fruit riche, qui à son tour laisse place à des tanins finement granuleux, gourmands, délectables. Un vin majestueux auquel vous voudrez retourner encore et encore. 100 Jeb Dunnuck - jebdunnuck.com (April 2023) The Grand Vin 2020 Château Cheval Blanc checks in as a blend of 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon that was raised, as always, in 100% new French oak. As usual with Cheval Blanc, it's primarily about finesse and elegance, as well as complexity, and exhibits a deep purple hue as well as a kaleidoscopic bouquet of sweet red and black fruits, spring flowers, spicy incense, loamy earth, and smoke tobacco. Absolutely flawless on the palate, it's full-bodied, has perfectly integrated oak, ripe, silky tannins, and a gorgeous finish that keeps you coming back to the glass. This powerful, concentrated Cheval Blanc offers pleasure even today (needs lots of air) but warrants 7-8 years of bottle age and will see its 40th birthday in fine form. 17/20 James Lawther MW – jancisrobinson.com (April 2021) 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. 71% of production. Cask sample. Deep colour. Flattering and floral on the nose but slightly hard-edged on the palate. There’s a fleshy quality to the fruit and freshness as well but the luxurious nature of Cheval seems missing this year. Tight and firm at present, even a little pinched, the tannins overwhelm the fruit at present. Drink 2028 – 2040 99 Jean-Marc Quarin – quarin.fr (April 2021) 97-99 Peter Moser – Falstaff (April 2021) 97-99 Michael Schuster – The World of Fine Wine (Mei 2021) (65% M, 30% CF, 5% CS; 74% harvest; 37hl/ha; 14.2% ABV; 100% new) A lovely, gently black-fruit-cored nose, deep, mineral, and oh so subtle; rich, ample, concentrated, tannic, and vital wine, a splendid long-term constitution; dense but not hard in any way, deep and sweet and packed with fruit, very long in the mouth, a wine of great complexity and scope, so complete and so persistent. Its tannins and acidity make for an upright, aristocratic, imposing presence, where you sense a wine with a structure of a different order from most on the Right Bank, one that is also effortlesly polished. I can think of no Cheval quite like this in the recent past. Magnificent wine. And only just over 14% ABV! Director Pierre-Olivier Clouet noted how difficult the wine had been to assemble, because the tannins were, unlike the 2019’s at a similar quantative level, so tiring. Ideally wait 15 to 20 years before broaching? 2035–60+. Cheval BlancCheval Blanc is één van de meest gerespecteerde wijnen in Bordeaux. De wijngaard zet de toon in Saint Emilion met een imposante oppervlakte van 37 hectare. Toch vertoont hij er een apart karakter, enerzijds omwille van zijn ligging (een grachtje scheidt hem van Pomerol) en anderzijds, omwille van de aangeplante cépages. Met 58% Cabernet Franc - de rest is Merlot - ontplooit Cheval Blanc zijn ware aard pas over een langere termijn. Imponeren doet hij met gedrevenheid en elegantie, zonder overdaad of overdondering. De beste flessen worden gevonden in de wijnjaren 1921, 1947, 1990, 2000, 2009 en 2010. De 1947 en 2010 kregen een perfecte Parkerscore. Kortom, Cheval Blanc staat voor majesteit. Het is één van “the Big Eight”, de acht meest vermaarde historische Châteaux van Bordeaux. Die benaming groepeert de Premiers van de Médoc (Latour, Lafite, Mouton, Margaux alsook Haut Brion in Pessac), Ausone eveneens in Saint Emilion, Petrus in Pomerol en Yquem in Sauternes. Samen met Ausone, Pavie en Angélus draagt Cheval Blanc de titel van Premier Grand Cru Classé “A”. Eigenaars Bernard Arnault en Baron Frère vertrouwen de leiding toe aan Pierre Lurton. Hij wordt bijgestaan door een dreamteam van technici met onder meer Pierre-Olivier Clouet en Professor Kees Van Leeuwen. Hun toewijding is groot. Cheval Blanc domineert het landschap zeker na de recente bouwwerken geleid door architect Christian de Portzamparc. Au XVIII° siècle, l’actuel terroir de Cheval Blanc comportait une importante surface de vignes, comme l’atteste une carte de Belleyme, datée en 1764. Près d’un siècle plus tard, la propriété est acquise par la famille Fourcaud-Laussac qui la conservera jusqu’en 1998, et la cèdera alors à Monsieur Bernard Arnault et au Baron Albert Frère. La propriété forme un ensemble homogène d’un seul tenant, à la limite de l’appellation Pomerol.
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