CHÂTEAU CHEVAL BLANC

48 Cabernet Franc, 46 Merlot, 6 Cabernet Sauvignon: 100% new oak (seven coopers, with a focus on medium toast, for 16-18 months): 12.8% alc: 70% of production contributed to the Grand Vin, which is close to the average.

For the third year in a row, it was a great privilege to taste with Arnaud de Laforcade, Commercial & Financial Director at Cheval Blanc. His detailed background notes inform so much about the flavour and stance of the pair of fascinating and forensically assembled wines made here. Arnaud explained that only 66% of the harvest was bottled, and from a possible yield of 40 hl/ha, only 28 hl/ha were vinified. Interestingly, the Cheval Blanc estate footprint has barely changed since 1832, and the joy of this wine is that it uses fruit from virtually all sectors of the estate to build complexity. Only the sandier plots are regularly relegated to the second wine (which came in in 1988). The difficulties of the vintage are well documented, and with a six-week-long flowering, irregular ripeness, even within bunches, was the biggest hurdle aside from obvious botrytis concerns. Sorting was critical here, and this explained the cliff edge difference between potential yields and actual yields, and the fruit in this wine and Le Petit Cheval is pristine. Cheval Blanc is another property that used a ‘densimetric bath’ to eliminate grapes that looked ripe to the eye but lacked genuine fruit weight and density of ripeness. The level of care and attention needed to ‘drive’ a Delta Densilys is incredible, and Cheval Blanc has mastered this useful piece of kit. The ‘baths’ used were plot-specific and considered the required changes that occurred overnight between harvested grapes and those that left the cold room the next day. This extraordinary attention to detail eliminated significant percentages of sub-standard grapes, resulting in an incredible wine, built on terrific tannins and cool, long, immovable fruit notes. There is tremendous strictness here, and this is undoubtedly a Cheval Blanc designed for committed purists and life-long devotees of this historic property. This wine feels discreetly addictive and intellectually challenging. With no unnecessary generosity or flattery, this is an unflinchingly honest and stunningly refined example of why this Château has remained so famous for nigh on two centuries. Cheval Club Card holders need only apply, as they have the monastic patience to allow this wine to reach its apogee slowly and deliberately. In time, 2024 Cheval Blanc will tell the story of its vintage with extraordinary clarity and determination – the twin traits responsible for its creation. Rating: 19.5 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (May 2025)