critic reviews
The 2022 Cheval Blanc has a tightly wound bouquet with blackberry, bilberry, crushed stone and tea leaves, well defined with an assiduous use of oak. The palate is medium-bodied with a very smooth entry, fine acidity and very harmonious, with just a little savouriness on the mid-palate. Some Cabernet Franc in the blend? Just the right amount of dryness and structure on the finish maintains freshness and leaves you wanting more. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting in London.
There was no Petit Cheval in this vintage, the majority of the crop going into Cheval Blanc, taking 78% of the harvest, while 22% was sold as bulk wine (which was almost all press wine which is never included in the blend at Cheval Blanc) and there was not sufficient volume to create a Petit Cheval. A groundbreaking harvest here, beginning August 29th, the first time the Cheval Blanc harvest has begun before the arrival of September. The blend is 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the élevage was shorter than usual, amounting to just 13 months, in 100% new 225-litre oak barrels. It was bottled in May, a couple of months ahead of schedule. This is just glorious on the nose, expressive but with fabulous perfume, with dense raspberry and red cherry fruits, with rosehips, vanilla and toast, pure and just leaping from the glass. The palate is beautifully composed, just so elegant and precise, with toasted summer berries, wrapped in pencil shavings and a touch of coffee bean, but the most significant finding here is one of beautifully coherent and elegant harmony, the wine filled with defined Cabernet energy, beneath which there is a fresh and peppery core of tannins. I see not a single hair out of place;overall this is a stunning Cheval Blanc, I think probably the most convincing and energetic young vintage I can recall tasting, and it is one you should leave in your cellar for a very long time before broaching. Perfection. Tasted twice. The alcohol on the label is 14%.
Expressive aromatic profile, generous structure. The Cabernet Franc pulls its weight in terms of tension and freshness, infusing the luscious fruits with mint, roses and peony. Showcasing the opulent side of Cheval Blanc while retaining a finesse and classic uplift, pulses of electricity, as ever careful construction and just a ton of utter pleasure, harvest 29 August to 20 September, earliest ever, 3.8ph, 28hl/h yield. No Petit Cheval, and first year since stepping back from the classification.
One of the stars of the vintage is the striking 2022 Chateau Cheval Blanc, a blend of 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon that bursts from the glass with aromas of mulberries, cherries and wild berries mingled with mint, orange zest, pencil lead, vine smoke and exotic spices. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and layered, it's rich and gourmand, with beautifully refined tannins, lively acids and a long, saline, pungently perfumed finish. Harvest began on 29 August, with all the Merlot picked before the month was out, and the result is a wine that is as vibrant as it is lavish.