Wine Advisor
Le Petit Cheval 2012
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux tasting. The 2012 Le Petit Cheval has a low-key nose that might be lost in the crowd of its more ostentatious peers, but it is well-defined with beautifully integrated oak, briary and graphite aromas developing with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannin, a keen line of acidity and an almost Left Bank finish that deserves a round of applause. Under blind conditions, I was not the only one to give this one of my most positive comments against the "big boys." Not to be underestimated. Tasted January 2016.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The second wine, the 2012 Le Petit Cheval, is composed of 75% Cabernet Franc and 25% Merlot. Straightforward, elegant, fruity, racy and classy, it lacks a touch of weight, mid-palate depth and length. Nevertheless, there is plenty to like. It should drink nicely upon release and last for a decade thereafter.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The Le Petit Cheval is a blend of 25% Merlot and 75% Cabernet Franc, it has an understated bouquet that is quite ripe with hints of iodine developing with time. The palate is medium-bodied with quite “thick” tannins, the Cabernet Franc offering a grainy texture, noticeable brine and tobacco accents developing towards the structured, quite linear finish. Though a second wine, I suspect this will deserve two or three years bottle age. Tasted April 2013.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A wine with delicious fruit and fine tannins. Medium-to-full body, with lovely fine tannins. Long, long finish. Very juicy and delicious now. 75% Cabernet Franc, 25% Merlot.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A refined and firm red with dried cherries, spices and coffee beans. Full to medium body,fine tannins and a delicious finish. Better after 2017.
About the Producer
This wine comes from the Saint-Emilion region on the right bank of Bordeaux, France. It is worth mentioning that, in view of the excellent quality and uniformity of the grapes, Château Cheval Blanc did not brew the second-brand wine in 2015. Except for a small part of wine for internal use that is not for sale, the remaining grapes are all used for wine production. Brew the real wine. The winery implements a rigorous and meticulous brewing process to minimize the use of chemicals to produce fresh, elegant, delicate and balanced wines. After the grapes are crushed, they are placed in small tanks with a capacity of 450 kg, after which the must flows into the fermenters by gravity flow (Gravity Flow). Depending on the weight of the must after crushing and the plot of origin, the winemaker will choose a different fermenter and only fill 3/4 of it. After 12 hours of alcoholic fermentation, the workers perform skinning three times a day. According to the daily tasting by the technical team and the cellar supervisor and the measurement data of the liquid hydrometer, the workers will gradually reduce the number of skins in the late fermentation period. After the alcoholic fermentation is complete, the wine is soaked in the skins for several days in temperature-controlled fermenters at 28-30°C to make the tannins more supple and the structure smoother. Afterwards, the wine liquid is transferred to a fermenter at 20°C for 3 weeks to several months of malolactic fermentation (Malolactic Fermentation) to soften the acidity and stabilize the structure. After all the fermentation processes are completed, the wine is transferred to new oak barrels and aged in an underground cellar with a constant temperature of 14°C for 16-18 months. The winemaker will change barrels at this stage, using inert gas to transfer the 210 liters of wine to adjacent oak barrels to minimize oxidation and maintain the balance of the wine. After aging in barrels for three months, the winemaker tastes the wine in each oak barrel, and then mixes the wine to prepare the current year's Cheval Blanc red wine.
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