Château Cheval Blanc, 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion, 2011

Name: Château Cheval Blanc, 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion
Brand: Château Cheval Blanc
Price: 399.46 GBP

Available Vintages

all 1996 2011 2014 2020

justerini & brooks tasting note

Tasted in the new 13€ million winery, the 2011 Cheval Blanc is rather more graceful than the lines of the new construction. It is a rather gleaming and magnificent interior, which will no doubt push the qualitative bar even higher, but close neighbours may be saying the French equivalent of NIMBY... Produced from 54% Merlot and 46% Cabernet Franc, this was one of the superstars of the appellation, even the vintage. Perfumed bouquet of minerals, cut flowers, graphite, stones and crème de cassis. This really is very mineral and speaks of its finer terroir. On the palate it is linear, racy and ripe with a haunting finesse. Flavours develop in the glass and on the palate as some decadent red cherries, violets and dark chocolate notes come to the fore. There is a wonderfully persistent perfume and tremendous length to this athletic beauty. Another sensational Cheval which proves that if you have great terroir, you don't need to force extractions to create a vin de garde. Outstanding.

critic reviews

96/100Lisa Perrotti-Brown,The Wine Independent

The 2011 Cheval Blanc has a deep garnet-brick color. The nose is redolent of tar, fertile loam, licorice, and prunes, giving way to a core of fruitcake, new leather, and black truffles. The palate is full-bodied, rich, and concentrated with earthy nuances coming through on the long finish.

DRINKING WINDOW 2023 - 2037

date of review 09/2023

97/100William Kelley,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

An underrated vintage, the 2011 Chateau Cheval Blanc is evolving brilliantly. Wafting from the glass with aromas of smoky cassis, blackberries, loamy soil, tobacco leaf, bitter chocolate, mint and violets, it's full-bodied, velvety and multidimensional, with a layered core of fruit, rich and powdery structuring tannin and a long, resonant finish. While the 2009 and 2010 are more powerful and unctuous, readers who prize Cheval Blanc for its extraordinary complexity and unique perfume might well prefer the 2011, as it is a wine that could come from nowhere else.

DRINKING WINDOW 2021 - 2050

date of review 08/2022

94/100Neal Martin,Vinous

The 2011 Cheval Blanc has an elegant, quite refined bouquet with brambly red fruit, scorched earth, terracotta and sage, very complex and harmonious. Could this be Figeac? [Post-script. No, but not far off!] The palate is medium-bodied with rounded tannins, quite plush and sensual, rich for this vintage with plenty of concentrated, quite sweet and spicy, hoisin-tinged fruit on the precise finish. This is a very fine Saint-Émilion. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting.

DRINKING WINDOW 2020 - 2040

date of review 04/2022

94/100Jane Anson,Inside Bordeaux

Plenty of grip at 10 years old, but as with many of the bigger wines in the 2011 vintage, it is fairly closed right now, after a good number of years when it felt approachable. I would suggest leaving it for another five years to let these tannins soften and the peony aromatics fully emerge. It does soften after a double carafing (I tried this both from bottle and later over food), when the violet and precisely-drawn raspberry and redcurrant notes take the lead. Cabernet Franc dominant right now, but it lacks a little generosity at this stage of its life. 64% first wine.

DRINKING WINDOW 2025 - 2045

date of review 09/2021