“This is an exceptionally beautiful wine.” Joaquín Hidalgo – 99 Points

I don’t get to write offers very often anymore. However, I really wanted to for this release because this is a wine I think all fine wine drinkers should know about.

I’ve been following Cheval des Andes with great interest ever since the Cheval Blanc team got involved in 2014. I have to admit, I didn’t have high hopes for it at the beginning. I tend to let out an audible groan when I hear about another trans-Atlantic wine partnership. Too often they yield unexciting wines at ill-conceived prices and merchants and consumers are rightly indifferent to them. However, Cheval Blanc is a serious property and the wine making team there are some of the best in the world. Moreover, the change in strategy that has been pursued by Cheval over the last 10 years points towards a price that might be rooted in logic. Therefore, my initial doubts turned to curiosity. The first releases were good, perhaps not great, but good enough for me to keep paying attention. Then the 2015 vintage released and I liked the wine enough to buy a case for myself.

Fast forward to the present day and I’ve just finished drinking that case of 2015. I’ve enjoyed it enormously, but, tasting the 2021 last year and then the 2022 twice this week, I’m struck by how much this estate and the wine has improved. The earlier releases, including my 2015, were fundamentally new world wines, with a little French polish and sophistication. However, from 2016 onwards I think they have become decidedly more refined, dare I say, French. The fruit concentration has been dialled back, as has the alcohol. The wines feel fresher, the tannins more refined. They don’t feel either old world or new world, instead they seemed to borrow the best of both sides. It wasn’t until the 2021 vintage that I thought they had really nailed it, and 2022 feels like a repeat of that great success. The rich fruit is still there, but it’s delicate, complex and layered. When Cheval Blanc’s wine maker Pierre-Olivier Clouet came to present the wines to us last week, he said they wanted to “try to reflect the taste of the terroir and not the winemaker” and it would seem they’ve now managed that.

So, what should you expect from this wine? Well, don’t expect Bordeaux, it’s not. There’s no extended cellaring required here, in fact it’ll be very enjoyable as soon as it arrives in stock. It should hit its peak after 6-7 years and should be best consumed within 10-15 years (large formats will go longer). It’s not overtly ‘new world’, there are no giant gobs of fruit or high alcohol, the tannins aren’t so ripe that you don’t feel them. They give structure and shape to the wine and are supported by a fresh acidity that buttresses the fruit. These characteristics combine to make it very versatile. I enjoy them best served slightly cool (but not chilled), so that the aromas unfurl in the glass a little slower. I think you’d be equally happy drinking this without food as with it. It would work wonderfully with heartier autumnal/winter fare, particularly a Sunday roast, but it would also shine alongside more refined cooking or at the end of the meal with some good cheese.

It is very easy to point to the 99 point score Vinous has given this wine, as to why you should buy it, but that’s not why I think you should buy. It’s certainly not an investment wine and beware of anyone telling you that it is. I think this is a buy because it genuinely over-delivers on the price you’re paying and more importantly because I think you’ll enjoy it immensely. If you have space at home, don’t send it to storage, have it delivered and start drinking it. And when you do, please drop me a message telling me what you think of it - george.wilmoth@justerinis.com