2019 Château Cheval Blanc Le Petit Cheval Blanc

Together with Château Pétrus and Ausone, Château Cheval Blanc is one of the legends of the Right Bank. Always possesses enormous concentration, but at the same time finesse and freshness. This cru is owned by the Belgian Albert Frère and Bernard Arnault. It is Pierre Lurton (from the Dominique Lurton branch) who vinifies the wine (just like in Château d'Yquem). This year the vinification took place for the fifth time in the ultra-modern new chais of the architect Christian de Portzamparc. 50 specially shaped (tronconical) concrete cuvees are used for microvinification per plot. Concrete was chosen because it has good thermal insulation and a tronconical shape because it ensures a gentler extraction of the berries for better fermentation. Everything is also vinified using the principle of gravity (so the wine or berries are no longer pumped up). A gigantic investment in the service of quality!

The relatively new white wine from Cheval Blanc (2018 was the first vintage), the Le Petit Cheval Blanc, is a blend of 74% Sauvignon Blanc and 26% Sémillon. The wine has intense notes of ripe pineapple, passion fruit and white peaches, followed by fragrant notes of lemongrass, lime blossom and hints of salty sea spray. The palate is full of a seductive oiliness with complex layers of tropical fruits, citrus peels and minerals, characterized by a refreshing line and ending with numerous mineral sparks. So beautiful, but anyway this is from Cheval Blanc. The first vintage (2018) of the Petit Cheval Blanc has received unanimously very high ratings, including James Suckling with 98/100 and Parker with 95/100 points.