Château Cheval Blanc 2017

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This is tight and very tannic with a linear and steely backbone of texture. Full-bodied, compacted and complete. Muscular and flexing it but polished and toned. Wow. There is 6% cabernet sauvignon in the blend, which may be giving this even more strength. Very, very long. Very Left Bank in terms of the power and depth.

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Violettes Purpur. Ausladendes und komplexes Bouquet, nach Veilchen, Lakritz und schwarzem Pfeffer duftend. Angenehme Düfte von roten Beeren. Feiner und cremiger Auftakt. Am Gaumen verfügt der Wein über eine schöne Textur. Er ist cremig, rassig, aromatisch und bestens von der Säurestruktur unterstützt. Die Tannine stehen etwas im Hintergrund aber sie geben leicht süßliche Noten und bilden ein gutes Rückgrat. Ein komplexer und kraftvoller Cheval, der sich im Laufe der Zeit entfalten wird. Auf großartiger Art, schafft es der 2017er die Rasse und Kraft mit fruchtigen und süßliche Noten im Gaumen zu vereinen. Ein grosser Cheval Blanc! 2024–2047

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Couleur sombre, intense, profonde et belle. Nez très original, très aromatique, fin, fruité, pur, complexe et noble. Il est à la fois profond, vif et truffé. Moelleux à l’attaque, suave au développement, fondant et riche en milieu de bouche, le vin se montre complexe, juteux, noble, savoureux et gras. Il évolue sur des tanins fins, vers une grande finale qui enthousiasme par la délicatesse de son grain et la précision de ses arômes. C’est du Cheval Blanc en diable !

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Part of Top St-Emilion 2017 wines. A sense of forward motion here makes you smile - a reaction that's missing in many wines this year. The tannins push their way right through the palate, but cradle the cassis and bilberry fruit rather than smother it, helped by the fact that floral and smoky aromatics rise up. There's good persistency and you get that little kick and dance of minerality. The precision engineering is clear, but the overall feeling is simply of cohesion and enjoyment. 3.65ph. 100% new oak, but without a trace even now at this early stage. Approximately 60% of the wine this year came from the gravelly plots which were less affected by the frost, which accounts for a slightly higher level of Cabernet Sauvignon than usual. They used perhaps 1% of secondary budding in this blend (five weeks behind schedule at bud-break and then around 15 days by harvest) and kept picking from 15 September to 11 October - an extremely long schedule compared to most estates in 2017. With around 30% loss to frost, there will be 50,000 bottles of Cheval in 2017, compared to 116,000 in 2016. 21hl/ha yield this year, 75% destined for the grand vin. Drinking Window 2026 - 2040

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The 2017 Cheval Blanc is composed of 56% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 14% Cabernet Sauvignon—an unusually high percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon for this wine. Deep garnet-purple colored, it opens slowly to reveal a gorgeous lilacs, roses, licorice and black truffles nose over a compelling core of cassis, warm plums, wild blueberries and cigar box plus a waft of wood smoke. Medium to full-bodied, firm and earthy in character on the palate, it packs in tightly wound fruits and mineral accents, culminating in a long, perfumed finish. 50,000 bottles are to be produced.