Château Cheval Blanc, 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion, 2003

Tasting Note:

The earliest harvest in living memory saw the grapes arriving at Cheval Blanc between the 1st and 14th September. As at Le Dôme, the high percentage of Cabernet Franc (56% of the final blend, with 44% Merlot, cropped at 30hl/ha) will make this wine shine in the long run, as will stringent selection: only 50% of total production went into the Grand Vin. From the barrel the wine is reticent on the nose, but it delivers more on the palate. A fresh, elegant entry leads to delicate fruit characters supported by coffee and fine spice complexity. Knowing how this wine fills out in the latter stages of élévage, this will turn out to be a fine Cheval, perhaps not as weighty as some vintages but extremely refined and quite able to age 20+ years.