Steve Anderson

9.1

Reliable daily drinker - Sauvignon Blanc / Semillon blend. Excellent value. — 6 years ago

Mark Flesher

9.3

When in the 50's, this wine is thick and actually seems to be quite sweet. Honey and melon. Mango. Honeydew. Dare I say it really begged to be decanted! After 15 minutes and closer to room temp, this wine turns into a beauty. Honey, butter, and melon nose. Honeysuckle, melon, buttered toast on the entry. Enough acidity but still rounded. The middle is stone ground. Finish is higher acidity. Continued to develop as the wine opened, but unfortunately this one was gone before I think it had a chance to fully express. Yes, next time I certainly plan to DECANT this wine. Beautiful wine but I feel as though I missed out on a LOT. — 7 years ago

Gregory Knaps

9.2

2014. Wow! Love this. Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris and Semillon. — 7 years ago

Conrad Green

9.6

So fresh. Melon, citrus and great structure. Very pure. If you'd told me this was a 90's wine I'd have thought it was still young. Very crisp and long. This has literally decades ahead — 7 years ago

with Matt and Paul

Todd Nugent

8.9

I really enjoy this blend. Not fancy or complex, but it has enough viscosity, deep color & fruit to make it worth the spend, which was reasonable (upper $20's). Good discovery. — 9 years ago

Benjamin Keator

9.8

120 second finish. Tasted blind. Thought it was a mid-90's Dyquem. So very good — 9 years ago

with Colby

Bill Novak

10

Ok here's the plan. Champagne with oysters Rockefeller. Chardonnay only but Demi sec so should work (brut is the most drinkers choice but I like a little sweetness with OR and my cousin will appreciate sweetness. Pinot noir with tenderloin roast. First time with this vineyard but Santa Barbara valley usually big and fruity. S and I both like big pilots. Sauternes with dessert. Have heard of this vineyard but another first time. Trust this for only Jay and Doc. MERRY CHRISTMAS. — 9 years ago

Mark Freund

9.7

Med weight, refreshing acidity and vibrant fruit. Tasty Sauvignon/Semillon blend. Can't wait for more of the 12's to hit the market — 10 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

On the nose, it's pure elegance. Kirsch cherries, ripe blackberries, dark cherries, plums, poached strawberries, raspberries haunt the background, vanilla, very light and soft spice, candied moist black earth, fresh violets and liquid, fresh, slightly perfumed red/dark florals. The full body is smooth, sexy and silky elegance. The tannins are round, beautiful and 65-70% resolved. The dark cherries and cherries roll the eyes back in the head. OMG! The fruits are simply garden of Eden beautiful. Poached strawberries, creamy black and regular raspberries, ripe black plum, overly extracted pomegranate, dry cranberries, soft, delicate top soil/dry clay, limestone, crushed dry rock powder, dry stones, black cherry cola/licorice, hint of anise, light notes of dry herbs, fresh tobacco leaf, sweet, dark, moist, turned earth, lead pencil shavings, rich, round mouthwatering acidity and a rich, elegant cherry driven finish that doesn't stop and I will not forget. Cheval Blanc is not a classified First Growth but on my palate it qualifies as such. Glorious bottle! I've had the 05 & 10 early. It will certainly out do this 2001 but not today. Photos of; the historical Cheval Blanc; which I prefer. I love the Bordeaux history. The new and modern 20 Million dollar addition. Shots of the cellar...the new concrete and stainless state of the art fermentation tanks. Producer notes and history...The name Cheval Blanc translates into white horse. The Chateau's history in St. Emilion traces back to 1832. It was the year the Ducasse family purchased land from Chateau Figeac. Prior to it being know as Cheval Blanc, the vineyard was better known as Le Barrail de Cailloux, which loosely translates into "barrel of tiny stones." Of course, the inspiration from the terroir's unique gravely soils. The original vines purchased from Figeac became what many people think is the best wine of St. Emilion, Chateau Cheval Blanc. For the most part, I agree with that. Back in 1832, Chateau Figeac was owned by Countess Felicité de Carle-Trajet. At that time, Chateau Figeac had grown to a massive 200 hectare estate; which is huge by St. Emilion standards. It was the Countess who decided to sell portions of their holdings. The breakup of the larger Figeac estate helped create a myriad of new St. Emilion wine making estates; which explains why so many Chateauxs include the word Figeac as part of their name. However, the owners of what was to become Cheval Blanc wanted to establish their own identity that was separate from Figeac. In 1838, the Ducasse family purchased what was to became the majority of Cheval Blanc. Some of the vines were previously part of Figeac. They began buying more St. Emilion vineyard land to create Chateau Cheval Blanc. In 1852, Mille Ducasse married Jean Laussac-Fourcaud, she came with a dowry that included their recently acquired Bordeaux vineyards that included 2 of the 5 gravel mounds running through the vineyards of Cheval Blanc and Figeac. Pretty amazing dowry! The Laussac-Fourcaud family built the chateau that is still in use today. The Laussac-Fourcaud continued to add holdings and increasing the size of the Cheval Blanc vineyards. By 1871, they accumulated a total of 41 hectares of vineyards in Saint Emilion. Chateau Cheval Blanc remains that same size to this day. A number of years ago, Cheval Blanc spent a boat load of money on updating and renovating to a modern facility in a true modern fashion that drastically departed from its original existing historical structure. Cheval Blanc has always tried to be innovative. Around 1860, when the chateau for Cheval Blanc was being built, extensive work was also being done in the vineyards. In fact, even then, Chateau Cheval Blanc was at the forefront of vineyard management techniques when they added a vast network of drains in their vineyards. Chateau Cheval Blanc was probably the first estate in the Right Bank to install this type of drainage system. At first, Chateau Cheval Blanc sold their wine under the Figeac label. Once Chateau Cheval Blanc began winning medals for the quality in their wine, they changed their label. That change included placing pictures of their medals on the label, which is still featured on their label today. More importantly, the wines were now sold under the name of Chateau Cheval Blanc. Cheval Blanc continued gaining in popularity by producing some of the best wines in all of Bordeaux during the 1920’s, 1940’s and 1950’s. In 1998 Cheval Blanc was purchased by Bernard Arnault and Baron Albert Frere for a 135 million Euros. They asked Pierre Lurton to manage the property for them. Today, Pierre Lurton also manages their other estates, Chateau d’Yquem, Chateau La Tour du Pin and Quinault l’Enclos. 1991 was one of the most difficult vintages in Bordeaux history, Cheval Blanc did not produce a wine. #RESPECT! In 2009, LVMH purchased the shares owned by Bernard Arnault in a private transaction. There was no official announcement of the price. However, rumors placed the price at close to 15 Million Euros per hectare (€615,000,000), making this the most expensive transaction yet, on a per hectare purchase price in the history of Bordeaux. 2000, 2005, 2009 & 2010 were near perfect or perfect vintages for Cheval Blanc and again in 2015, they produced candidates for wine of the vintage. In that same year at an auction held by Christie’s, a scarce, six-liter bottle of the legendary 1947 Cheval Blanc, (Probably the only real bottle in existence) sold for a record setting price of $304,375 dollars! In 2011, with the help of famed architect and Pritzker Architecture Prize winner, Christian de Portzamparc, Chateau Cheval Blanc completed a major construction and renovation project. This remodeling included; building a new winery, barrel cellars, vinification room, tasting area and efforts with the landscaped gardens. Even though the structure is modern in design (sigh), this new cellar cost over $20,000,000. The 39 hectare vineyard of Cheval Blanc has a complex terroir that consists of 3 different soils. Even though the vineyards are in one large parcel, this can be divided up as follows: 40% of their soils are gravel over multiple types of clay, including blue clay. Another 40% of their terroir has deep gravel soils, while the remaining 20% of their soils consists of sandy clay in the soil. The vineyard of Chateau Cheval Blanc is planted to 49% Cabernet Franc, 47% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon today, but the goal is to return to the original mix of 55% Cabernet Franc, 40% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The vines at Cheval Blanc are old, averaging 45 years of age. They have 8 hectares of Cabernet Franc planted in the 1950’s. However, some of the older parcels of Cabernet Franc are close to 100 years of age, as they were planted in 1920. Cheval Blanc vinification takes place in 52 different temperature controlled, cement vats that vary in size, due to the needs of specific parcels to allow for each parcel being vinified in its own tank. Malolactic Fermentation takes place in tank. The wines are aged in 100% new, French oak barrels for close to 18 months before bottling. @ FL Yountville — 7 years ago

John Skupny - Lang & Reed Wine Company

9.6

Getting on, expected a touch more for the vintage - so coveted when I got in the trade in the '70's. Still lovely and persistent as always. — 10 years ago

Marcio Morelli

9.5

Not a rose as identified.
A blend of 2005 botrytised sauvignon blanc (SB) and dry SB from the subsequent vintages through solera system.
Sweet, freaking acid w/ slight oxidative notes. Unique! — 7 years ago

with Otavio

Shay A

9.4

This run of about 13 PHENOMENAL wines I'm posting are from the SQN wine dinner/WNH interview I did at @Shawn R 's house last night. I was like a kid in a candy store on Christmas. What an absolutely EPIC night! Love ya brother!

Jonata is new to me, but I know their pedigree background, so I'm glad to have finally experienced a wine of theirs. This SB/Semillon was a white wine that my wife couldn't stop revisiting and one that has me currently on their website hoping to buy some. More lemon characteristics here than the SQN, but the younger age on it still gave it an elegance. This white flowers, crisp apple and lemon peel at 10-yrs is a total standout and stunner. — 7 years ago

with Shawn

Aaron Tan

9.1

Straya Day vino.

Fresh. Ume, peach, apricot, preserved orange peel, white flowers, and vanilla on the nose. Indian spices as it opens up. Carries over to the palate. Honey. Interesting peppery notes too. Long finish.

Delicious concentrated Sauternes. 2001's a good year I hear. Still needs time - long life ahead. My only issue is the acid. I feel it needs a tad bit more to balance out the sweetness. — 7 years ago

Rebecca Fletcher

9.0

Honey, cooked sugar, apricot and lemon. R/S. Viscous. M+ acid. M body and finish. Orange peel,apricot. Balanced. A bit bitter in the palate. — 8 years ago

Jimmy Randall

8.9

Interesting blend with subtle fruit and s touch of acidity — 9 years ago

Mike Martin @TheWineShepherd

Wine Buyer Vintry Fine Wines

9.7

Mouton's best from the 70's... Power, Cassis, Tobacco, Spice, Savory.... #killer — 9 years ago

Mike Holdsworth

9.1

Pineapple, honey, nut,s caramel, boiled sweets, balanced with acidity — 9 years ago

with Tristin