CHÂTEAU CHEVAL BLANC
2023 1er Grand Cru Classé Saint Emilion
One of the most profound wines of the vintage is the 2023 Cheval Blanc, a striking wine that stands out for its strong sense of identity and seamless integration at such an early stage in its life. Wafting from the glass with notes of mulberries, lilac, dark fruits, iris root and violets, it's medium to full-bodied, supple and seamless, with a gourmand core of cool, vibrant fruit that entirely conceals its sweet structuring tannins, concluding with a long, perfumed finish. It's a blend of 52% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, drawing on fully 46 of the blocks that make up Cheval Blanc, and it attained 13.8% alcohol. Rating: 98-100 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Apr 2024)
75cl bottles (wood case of 1)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
Contrasts intensity and depth with nuance and softly spoken character. Lift and tension, precisely placed cocoa bean, liqourice root, tomato leaf, tannins, violet and peony florals and slate, sinewy, slow-tug tannins, powerful with lift off. Has plenty to say and demands that you slow down to hear it. 40hl/h yield, 75% of overall production (no press wine as ever), harvest September 6 to October 3. Pierre-Olivier Clouet director. Drinking range: 2032 - 2050 Rating: 98 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2024)
The 2023 Cheval Blanc is uncharacteristically backward on first meeting, and it takes time to really fire up its engines. Quite strict and focused (surprisingly so), the bouquet reveals black fruit, a touch of bilberry, with just a whiff of iris flower. The palate has wonderful symmetry, outstanding mineralité and ample tension. It's extremely pure, with less weight than the 2022 but perhaps a touch more nerve. Modestly grippy on the finish, this "serious" Cheval Blanc will deserve several years in bottle. It's cerebral…and I like that. The 2023 is very different from the 2022—a beautiful minor chord. Drinking range: 2030 - 2060 Rating: 96-98 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2024)
52 Merlot, 46 Cabernet Franc, 2 Cabernet Sauvignon: 100% new oak (seven coopers, with a focus on medium toast, for 16-18 months) I have been talking about the human interventions that made this vintage such a success for the best protagonists, and Cheval Blanc and Le Petit Cheval are perfect cases in point. Floral ignition was simply stunning here, with every flower and every fruit exploding into life. In June, the viti-teams had to fight hard - they sprayed 11 times to combat mildew, and in July, everything dried out, and three careful green harvests took place. The term green harvest sounds somewhat brutal because the teams practised ‘cleaning’, ‘aerating’ and ‘taking weight out of bunches’ to balance the vines with precisely the correct crop load for each vine. In some cases, they dropped one bunch in two to give every vine, including the vigorous young vines, a chance of being eligible for the Grand Vin! It is always a joy to taste with Arnaud de Laforcade, Commercial & Financial Director at Cheval Blanc because he comes out with truly passionate one-liners that frame the wines perfectly. “We love our young vines”, he said wistfully. “If you left them in this vintage, they would make 70hl/ha, so we must harmonise the ripening.” He explained that this critical pruning was delegated to subcontracted crews because the “home team” hates cutting off fruit because they are so inextricably linked to their vines. This says a lot about the ethos at Cheval Blanc. August’s sprinklings of rain, interspersed with sunny weather, particularly in the second half, meant that conditions were perfect. This brought on complete ripeness, particularly in Cabernet Franc – the vital member of the team in both first and second wines. They started picking on the 6th of September with the younger Merlot vines and then cherry-picked for one whole month, ending on the 3rd of October. Even the ‘downpour’ in mid-September that was predicted to be a slightly worrying 60mm managed only 20mm, and like so many experienced crews, they ‘played the game’, and this prompted Cabernet Franc to hit a perfect picking window four days after this mini storm. In fact, Arnaud described picking as “serene”. It was a luxury to pick precisely what you wanted when you wanted, and the results are simply jaw-dropping. While this famous château has been flying high the last couple of years in my notes and scores with stunning wines with different characters and dimensions, I think that 2023 Cheval Blanc has one of the most attractive perfumes I can remember. It is like walking in the most extraordinary florist imaginable when the rare and exotic flowers have their stems trimmed, ready for display. The mix of pungent florals and electrifying keen, green hints is captivating. This is a thrillingly detailed wine, and I have not yet moved onto the palate. It must be impressed on all comers that this is a medium-weight, high-tensile Cheval Blanc that derives its scale of flavour by summoning up beguiling intensity without any apparent weight. It focuses its efforts firmly on a complex red spectrum of fruit, which goes against the grain of the three-dimensional red and black peacock tails found over the fence in Pomerol. This is a devastating Cheval Blanc with operatic high and deeply resonant low notes, and at every step of the way, there is luxury perfectly offset by freshness. It is one of a handful of wines in 2023 that could never have been so utterly dreamy without the timely interventions of humans. In fact, it inspired the title of this entire report. 20+/20 Rating: 20+ Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (May 2024)
The 2023 Cheval Blanc is silky, elegant and exceptionally polished. Cabernet Franc is rarely as expressive as it is here. Everything in the 2023 is about detail. All the elements are so well balanced—so integrated. Red/purplish berry fruit, mint, cinnamon, rose petal and blood orange meld together, while seamless tannins wrap it all up in grand style. What a wine. Drinking range: 2033 - 2063 Rating: 95-98 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2024)
This takes 75% of the crop in this vintage, and it is a blend of 52% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is quite divine on the nose, very perfumed, floral, polished, with rose, peony and violets, showing great precision, purity and linearity. The élevage is in 100% new oak, yet it just doesn’t show on the nose at all. The palate shows divine harmony, elegance and restraint, before it unfurls in the midpalate to produce a wonderfully broad and yet harmonious substance. The tannins feel perfectly ripe and composed, precisely drawn, present yet not intrusive, with great energy through the middle. There is a tannic frame here, but it is polished, finely knit and cohesive with the rest of the palate. This then all focuses into a finish which has focus and great sense of energy. Such seamless harmony here. This is a super Cheval Blanc which seems very true to the terroir. Rating: 96-98 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)
This is so cabernet, with blackcurrants, blackberries, crushed stone, graphite and lead pencil. Full-bodied with tight, chewy tannins that remain fine yet energetic. Winemaker Pierre-Olivier Clouet says this wine is a benchmark for Cheval Blanc. Reminds me of the great 1983. 13.8% alcohol. 52% merlot, 46% cabernet franc and 2% cabernet sauvignon. Rating: 98-99 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2024)
Château Cheval Blanc
Château Cheval Blanc sits at the pinnacle of the St Emilion meritocracy, unarguably alongside Château Ausone and arguably alongside Château Angélus and Château Pavie, the two estates elevated to Premier Grand Cru Classé (A) status in 2012. But, whilst the other three are clustered around the village of St Emilion, Cheval Blanc is far to the north-west and possibly only a St Emilion by accident of human geography. This is not classic St Emilion limestone and clay territory, Château Cheval Blanc (and neighbouring Figeac) sits on the gravel band that benefits its northerly neighbours across the road and across the border in Pomerol, namely Château Conseillante and Château l’Evangile. Next door Château Figeac was once a mighty estate of some 200ha, but by the early 19th Century the extravagances of the Comtesse de Carle-Trajet had taken their toll and large portions of the estate had to be sold off. Jean-Jacques Ducasse bought a plot of Figeac in 1832, and then a little bit more; his son-in-law, Jean Laussac-Fourcaud bought some more; and by 1871 Château Cheval Blanc had been carved out of the Figeac estate. Initially the wine was still sold as Château Figeac but from 1852 the name Château Cheval Blanc was used. The Laussac-Fourcaud family, morphing into the Fourcaud-Laussac family, owned Cheval Blanc until 1998. With the first classification of St Emilion’s vineyards in 1954, Cheval Blanc and Château Ausone were given special status as Premier Grand Cru Classé (A). New owners in 1998 brought Pierre Lurton in to manage Château Cheval Blanc, something he does alongside managing Château Yquem. A new space-age looking winery was completed in 2011. The 39ha of vineyards are planted to 58% Cabernet Franc and 42% Merlot, with an average age of 40 years. They were augmented by a 1.4ha block added from Château Tour du Pin in 2012. Another block of vines from Tour du Pin appear to be destined for white wine production.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those on the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do contact our private client team via email or on 020 7018 0187.
Ordering
Prices are all in bond by the case size stated.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment to buy wines on release, as long as the release price is within the upper and lower price bands set by you on the pre-order form. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability but providing this firm commitment to buy effectively gives you priority and is a good idea for the most desirable wines.
Wines listed on the website can be ordered in the usual way via the website wishlist order form. You can also send orders directly to our private client team via email. Please note that, for the most sought-after wines, priority will be given to those who ordered the same wines last year and to those that have pre-ordered.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of email confirmation. Pre-orders are not binding if the release price is above your upper price band.
Invoices are all raised at the in bond price (excluding any duty and VAT) which will become payable at the prevailing rates when the wines arrive in the UK, should you wish to take duty paid delivery.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We regret we cannot accept credit cards for en primeur orders. We reserve the right to apply a dunning charge of 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (at LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £500. Orders below this total will be charged an administration and handling fee of £16.50+ VAT when invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery of 2023 Bordeaux bought en primeur is expected during 2026. Delivery dates may vary as wines are shipped from Bordeaux at different times.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes). Immediate payment of invoices is then required by cash, cheque, debit card or bank transfer. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option but please note that confirmed orders are still binding even if the final invoice has not yet been issued.
Please specify on your wishlist order form where you would like the wines shipped on arrival in the UK. If this is to a third-party bonded warehouse, please specify the relevant account details. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue a second invoice for duty and VAT at the prevailing rate when the wines are available for delivery.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the format you want. While most of our listings are for 75cl bottles, we can source wines in any format that is offered by the Château. Please note that format requests cannot be changed once wines have been invoiced. Additional charges for special formats do apply and are as follows:-
- +£18.00 per case of 12 half-bottles
- +£30.00 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£7.50 per case of 3 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£11.00 per case of 6 Magnums
- +£45.00 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£60.00 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.
Storage Options:
Wines bought en primeur won't arrive in the UK until 2026. If you do not wish to take home delivery at that point, you may wish to consider where you would like the wines shipped. Lea & Sandeman offers duty paid and in bond storage through a dedicated storage company called Elephant Storage. For more details on the terms and fees associated with storage please go to our Storage Homepage or contact our private client team for more information.