Wine Advisor
Cheval Blanc 1975
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Description
Château Cheval Blanc, a 1er Grand Cru Classé (A) is unquestionably the leading estate in St. Emilion. It is located in the north-west of the St. Emilion appellation, bordering Pomerol. Cheval Blanc obtained its first medal at the 1862 Universal Exhibition in London. In fact, a representation of this bronze medal is found on the château’s present-day label. Cheval Blanc won their first gold medal at the 1878 Universal Exhibition in Paris, and this new distinction also appeared on the label. In 1886, Cheval Blanc won a second gold medal at the Universal Exhibition in Antwerp. Reflecting this series of successes and a wine well on the way to achieving international recognition, a château was built on the estate.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Cheval Blanc was one of the more forward and fun to drink 1975s fifteen years ago, but its evolution has slowed considerably. It reveals some of the kinky, exotic Cheval Blanc complexity, with chocolate, mint, cedar, and sweet fruit filling the moderately intense bouquet. Although the color displays considerable amber at the edge, it has a deep ruby/garnet center, as well as plenty of sweet, ripe fruit with noticeable glycerin and extract. It is a rich, firmly-styled Cheval Blanc that juxtaposes power and tough tannin with plenty of sweet jammy fruit. I admire and enjoy this fully mature wine, which is capable of lasting for 15+ more years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
It is five years since I last encountered this, perhaps underrated Cheval Blanc. Served blind against the ’50 and ’64, it was actually this that exuded the most freshness and finesse, although admittedly it did not last as long in the glass. But still, the nose has superb delineation for the first hour, the Cabernet Franc less prominent than usual with sultry blackberry leaf and mulberry fruit, becoming earthier and less vigorous with time in glass. The palate is full-bodied, quite succulent with good acidity, becoming increasingly tarry in the glass with a slight bitterness on the finish. Nevertheless, it is a very good wine for the vintage and one must stand back and admire its silky smooth finish. Drink now-2018. Tasted September 2008.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at Christies’ boardroom dinner. A very similar showing to last year, this is a lovely Cheval Blanc with an expressive, open-knit nose, again more merlot-driven than cabernet franc with tertiary fruit inflecting the red-berried fruits with just a touch of mulberry and fresh fig. The palate is full-bodied, fleshy and succulent, touches of tar, orange rind and more dried herbs/cigar box coming through towards the finish. It does not have the bitterness that last year’s bottle showed, but I had forgotten how opulent and ravishing it tasted. Drink now-2018. Tasted May 2009.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Deep ruby core. Unfortunately the nose is ever so slightly tainted. Damp earth, wet moss of a moldy log reads my note. A slight teriyaki sauce element. Very good concentration on the palate with firm tannins. Lots of tobacco elements: certainly a more masculine Cheval and like Latour a little foursquare. But still a very good wine drinking now. Tasted November 2003.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This wine is very complex aromatically, but if the bouquet deserves a 90-point score, the flavors are marginally disappointing. A big nose of spice box, cedar, black fruits, mineral, and almost an espresso-like note is followed by a somewhat tannic, medium-bodied wine with astringent tannin and a tough finish. It is showing considerable amber at the edge and probably needs to be drunk up, although it is certainly in no danger of falling apart, but I suspect it will become more and more desiccated as the wine ages. Last tasted, 12/02.
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
(21.5 h/h; 13% alcohol): Bright ruby-red with a hint of garnet. Enticing floral nose offers very pure raspberry and red cherry aromas, complicated by tobacco and bay leaf notes. Then sweet, dense and smooth in the mouth, with rich red cherry, plum and peppery flavors. Finishes with still chewy but noble tannins and a trace of heat. A great Cheval Blanc that is more massive than usual, showing plenty of concentrated, complex flavors and a wonderfully rich texture. In this vintage, Cheval Blanc benefited from its earlier ripening soils, which allowed the grapes to be harvested at optimal phenolic ripeness, something that eluded other Bordeaux estates that may have picked too early. The harvest took place from September 26 to October 8. This was the first vintage of Cheval Blanc ever sold en primeur.
About the Producer
Château Cheval Blanc is a highly lauded wine estate in the Saint-Émilion region of northeast Bordeaux. Classified with the top ranking of Premier Grand Cru Classé A, it is regarded by many as one of the greatest wines of the appellation – if not, the greatest. It is certainly the most famous Cabernet Franc-based wine in the world, albeit often alongside very similar levels of Merlot. Typically, the "grand vin" (the estate's eponymous wine) is lush and full bodied with great weight of fruit. It tends to require ten years of bottle age and the best vintages can last half a century or more. The second wine of the estate is Le Petit Cheval. The vineyard is located in the northwest of the region, bordering Pomerol (La Conseillante is a neighbor) and consists of 39 hectares (96 acres) divided into 45 plots. There is an unusually large amount of Cabernet Franc planted – about 49 percent – with 47 percent Merlot and four percent Cabernet Sauvignon. The unusual planting proportions reflect the terroir; most vineyards in the region are either clay or gravel-based over impermeable sedimentary rock, but Cheval Blanc is unique in having a patchwork of soils with the two types in roughly equal proportions. The clay soils provide base wines with velvety tannins, while those from gravel soils are more aromatic and elegant. Vines have been grown since the 14th Century at this spot but the vineyard as it is known today took shape in the 19th Century when the core plots were added to by purchases from the nearby Figeac estate. Subsequent replantings established the atypical half-Merlot, half-Cabernet Franc proportions. Cheval Blanc gained its first medal at the 1862 Universal Exhibition in London – the first of a series of successes building its reputation and achieving price levels comparable to the Médoc first growths, which paved the way for a château to be built on the estate. In the first classification of Saint-Émilion wines in 1955, Cheval Blanc was awarded the highest possible rating and remains a Premier Grand Cru Classé A. In 1998, after 166 years of continuous family ownership, Bernard Arnault, the head of luxury goods firm LVMH, and the late Baron Albert Frère (a Belgian billionaire investor) jointly purchased the estate. The spectacular new cellar opened in 2011, with 52 concrete vats (replacing stainless steel) of differing sizes corresponding to different vineyard plots. The grand vin spends 16 to 18 months in new oak barrels from a variety of cooperages.
1953(1)1954(2)1962(1)1967(1)1973(1)1974(2)
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