Chateau Cheval Blanc 1er Grand Cru Classes 1947, 0,75l.

Château Cheval Blanc

Château Cheval Blanc is a famous French wine estate located in Saint-Émilion in the immediate neighbourhood of Pomerol. Alongside Château Ausone, it was the only winery from the Saint Émilion appellation to be continuously awarded the highest classification Premier Grand Cru Classé A in the classification of Saint-Émilion wines between 1955 and 2022 (see also the article Bordeaux wine (classification)). In June 2021, the person responsible, Pierre-Olivier Clouet, announced that he would not apply for an award for the 2022 classification; the same applied to Château Ausone. In particular, they criticised the fact that the aspects of tourism and social networks were given too much space in the assessment. The winery is an honorary member of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, which was founded in 1973.

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

Location, soil and grape varieties

The château is located in the far north-west of the Saint-Émilion appellation, in the immediate neighbourhood of the commune of Pomerol. The 37-hectare vineyard benefits from a special geological feature: it lies on gravel deposits up to seven metres thick, which were brought up from the Massif Central by the River Isle during the Günz Ice Age. Château Cheval Blanc shares the hilltop with the neighbouring Châteaux La Tour-Figeac, Figeac and La Dominique.

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

The wine

The best wines were rated by Robert Parker as follows: Vintage 2010 (wine rating: 100 PP), 2009 (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 a good bottling and has been stored properly. Current auction prices are in the range of 2500 to 3000 euros for the normal bottle. However, a large number of poor bottlings and fake new bottlings of this wine have become known on the market.

Trivia

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

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

Château Jean Faure and Château Cheval Blanc are located on the same plateau and produce their wines using similar production techniques from the same grape varieties. The Jean Faure costs around 40 euros per bottle (2020), the Cheval Blanc almost twenty times as much.