Wine Advisor
Cheval Blanc 2009
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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.
It will be fascinating to follow the evolution of the 2009 Cheval Blanc versus the 2010 as well as the awesome 2005, 2000, 1998 and 1990. This famous estate’s vineyard is situated at the juncture of Pomerol and the sandy, gravelly soils of St.-Emilion, facing the two noble estates of l’Evangile and La Conseillante. A blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, the 2009 Cheval Blanc tips the scales at just under 14% natural alcohol. Its dense blue/purple color is accompanied by an extraordinary nose of incense, raspberries, cassis, sweet forest floor and a subtle hint of menthol. Opulent and full-bodied with low acidity but no sense of heaviness, this dense, unctuously textured, super-smooth, velvety, pure, profound Cheval Blanc is impossible to resist despite its youthfulness. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2050+.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the chateau. The Cheval Blanc is a blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, started picking on 15th September until the 7th October. The bouquet is very pure, tightly coiled at the moment with an almost Margaux-like veil. Very fine delineation and with time: touches of espresso entwine with the black cherry fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with firm but fine tannins, that slight chalkiness to the texture, very good purity with that hint of espresso and minerals interwoven into the pure red fruits. Wonderful sense of symmetry here, the Cabernet Franc taking over towards the finish with just a faint hint of bell pepper and tobacco, more masculine towards the finish. Superb. Tasted March 2010.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The harvest for the 2009 Cheval Blanc began in mid-September and finished on October 8. One of this estate’s greatest wines, the 2009 (58% Merlot and 42% Cabernet Franc) came in at 13.5% natural alcohol (some lots were as high as 14.5%). The wine exhibits sumptuous aromatics of subtle menthol intermixed with caramel, black raspberries, mulberries, kirsch, and cassis. With a stupendous opulence and a fleshy mouthfeel, but no heaviness or fatigue, this dense wine is staggeringly concentrated, very full-bodied, powerful, and silky smooth. Irresistible already, it is almost frightening to think how compelling this beauty should be in a few years. (Tasted once.) Anticipated maturity: 2015-2050.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Cheval Blanc is a little closed at the moment, revealing notes of plum preserves, chocolate-covered cherries, baked blackberries and spice cake with touches of star anise, sandalwood and tapenade plus a waft of unsmoked cigars. The rich, full-bodied palate is rock solid at this youthful stage, with firm grainy tannins and tons of freshness supporting the generous, relatively savory/earthy fruit, finishing with long-lingering exotic spice notions.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the chateau, the 2009 is a blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc. The nose is very subtle, slowly unwinding with each swirls of the glass with notes of blackberry, wild strawberry, graphite and just a faint touch of Indian ink that turns more menthol-like with continued aeration. A much more feminine nose that in recent vintages. The palate is medium-bodied with super-fine tannins and that lifted acidity as is common with the 2009s. The Cabernet Franc here is very expressive lending a spicy edge with just hint of lemongrass, something Asian. Very harmonious with laser-like focus with long persistency, Pierre Lurton has fashioned an outstanding Cheval Blanc this year. Tasted October 2011.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Apparently the final blend of the Cheval Blanc 2009 included 64% Cabernet Franc – perhaps a moot point given just how splendid this Saint Emilion is turning out. It has an extravagant, heavenly bouquet that immediately goes out to make an impression with exuberant wild strawberry, black olive compote, black truffle and minerals. The oak is beautifully interwoven. The palate is full-bodied with super fine tensile tannins, great purity and elegant. This has more tension that its peers: shimmering with complexity and vibrancy. Long and quite profound on the finish, this is a marvellous 2009 – but having tasting it recently – could the 2010 be even better? Tasted December 2012.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Cheval Blanc offers up profound notions of baked blueberries, blackberry compote and crème de cassis with suggestions of chocolate mint, new leather and cloves plus a waft of candied violets. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is an exercise in elegance with very classy, super fine-grained tannins, beautiful freshness and layer upon layer of mineral-laced blue and black fruits, finishing long and perfumed.
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
(a 60/40 blend of merlot and cabernet franc; pH 3.82; 13.7% alcohol; a 65% selection) Ruby-purple. Knockout nose offers deep aromas of cassis, minerals, cedar, cocoa and coffee. Then very rich and creamy in the mouth, with luscious, extremely concentrated flavors of blackcurrant, blueberry, raspberry liqueur and cedar. Finishes pure and extremely long, with velvety tannins and a delicate smoke and mineral notes. Though this is an amazingly refined wine, it also strikes me as a much bigger Cheval Blanc than usual, but it doesn't go over the top like many other wines do in '09. Not unlike the 1998 or the 2000, but with more power than the former wine and more grace than the latter. Director Pierre Lurton told me he worries that this wine may be underrated during the spring tastings, as is often the case with Cheval Blanc. This superlative wine should age splendidly for decades.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2009 Cheval Blanc has a surprisingly understated bouquet that unfurls in the glass with perfumed, quite floral aromas of rose petal and violet that complement the red cherries, cranberry and wild strawberry. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin, the Cabernet Franc component expressive with brown spice and ferrous notes infusing the fruit. This is a lovely Cheval Blanc although to be honest, this bottle is a little more forward than I anticipated. Tasted at BI Wines & Spirits Ten Year On tasting.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2009 Cheval Blanc has a rambunctious nose with copious red fruit, meat juices, sage and crushed stone aromas, ineffably complex. This is so refined, constantly mutating in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, saturated tannin. There is a mixture of red and black fruit, hints of cassis, cardamom and allspice. Immense depth and grip towards the finish expresses ripe Cabernet Franc. This is an outstanding 2009 destined for long-term ageing. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright red-ruby. Flamboyant yet classy aromas and flavors of raspberry, mocha, coffee and herbs. Like liquid velvet in the mouth, but with great lift and perfume giving the wine outstanding inner-palate verve. Wonderfully rich and classically dry Cheval with noble tannins, strong mineral energy and great lingering aromatic character. Atypically full and approachable for young Cheval Blanc but I'm not complaining. One of the longest wines of the vintage, and among my handful of favorites.
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.
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Package Size
1 x 1.5L
