Château Cheval Blanc

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The manor house of Château Cheval Blanc

Château Cheval Blanc is a famous French winery and is located in Saint-Émilion in the immediate vicinity of Pomerol . In addition to Château Ausone , Chateau Angelus and Chateau Pavie , it is the only winery from the Saint Émilion appellation with the highest classification Premier Grand Cru Classé A (see also the article Bordeaux wine (classification) ). The winery is an honorary member of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, founded in 1973 .

Château Cheval Blanc is owned by the Arnault and Frère families . In 1998 the families acquired the property for the sum of 131 million euros through the investment company Raspail Investissement .

Location, soil and grape varieties

The château is located in the extreme northwest of the area of ​​the appellation of Saint-Émilion, in the immediate vicinity of the municipality of Pomerol . The 37 hectare vineyard benefits from a geological peculiarity: It is located on up to seven meters thick gravel deposits that the Isle River brought from the Massif Central during the Günz Ice Age . Château Cheval Blanc shares the crest with the neighboring Châteaux La Tour-Figeac , Figeac and La Dominique .

Château Cheval Blanc - 1981 vintage

The completely different soil type from the rest of Saint-Émilion also results in a different choice of grape variety . The gravel soil is ideal for growing Cabernet Franc , which makes up 58% of the vineyard area; the remaining 42% is made up of the omnipresent Merlot in Saint-Émilion . The Cuvée des Grand Vins is usually around 55% Merlot (2009 even 60%) and around 45% Cabernet Franc (vintage-specific, e.g. 2010, also up to 55%). The Cheval Blanc is therefore often very similar to the wines of neighboring Pomerol . The average age of the vines is around 40 years.

The wine

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Cheval Blanc wine is considered to be one of the most exotic and at the same time profound Bordeaux wines. It is characterized by an elegant restraint, with full presence of all elements of excellent red wine, fruit aromas, tannins, texture, long finish, balance. It is therefore valued highly in generally weaker age groups and is regularly rated well above average.

The best wines were rated by Robert Parker as follows: Vintage 2009 ( wine rating : 99  PP ), 2005 (96 PP), 2000 (100 PP), 1998 (98+ PP), 1990 (98 PP), 1982 (92 PP) , 1964 (96 pp). The wine from 1947 enjoys a special position. Provided it comes from good bottling and has been properly stored, it is traded at high prices. Current auction prices are in the range from 2500 to 3000 euros for normal bottles. However, a large number of bad bottlings and also fake refillings of this wine have become known in the market.

Trivia

In the animated film Ratatouille, the gourmet critic Anton Ego orders a Château Cheval Blanc 1947 on the occasion of his restaurant visit.

In the film series Queer as folk (Season 1, Episode 5), the chiropractor Dr. David Cameron on a date with Michael Novotny at Château Cheval Blanc 1997.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bernard Arnault revend Cheval Blanc à LVMH . Les Echos, August 14, 2009
  2. ^ Neal Martin: Pomerol . Wine Journal Publishing, London 2012, p. 124 .