2020 Château Cheval Blanc Saint-Émilion 1st Grand Cru Classé A
Producer: Château Cheval Blanc
Region: Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux
Country: France
Grapes: 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2020
ABV: 14.5%
Vivino: 4.6
Drink By: 2059
Occasional Wine Note: What a beautiful wine this is. From the floral notes to the ripe red and blue fruits to the cocoa and cinnamon that are so well integrated into a finished product that is just beautfiul. This is yet another Bordeaux that should be in every serious cellar. Incredible.
Jeb Dunnuck
Critic Score: 100
The Grand Vin 2020 Chateau Cheval Blanc checks in as a blend of 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon that was raised, as always, in 100% new French oak. As usual with Cheval Blanc, it's primarily about finesse and elegance, as well as complexity, and exhibits a deep purple hue as well as a kaleidoscopic bouquet of sweet red and black fruits, spring flowers, spicy incense, loamy earth, and smoke tobacco. Absolutely flawless on the palate, it's full-bodied, has perfectly integrated oak, ripe, silky tannins, and a gorgeous finish that keeps you coming back to the glass. This powerful, concentrated Cheval Blanc offers pleasure even today (needs lots of air) but warrants 7-8 years of bottle age and will see its 40th birthday in fine form. Best After 2031
Decanter
Critic Score: 99
Spice, anis, rosemary, blackcurrant leaf, redcurrants, mint, peonies, the full array of aromatics are on display here, and there is an enveloping aspect to the fruit once you get to the body of the wine. The tannins are compact and powerful but they are wrapped in plump raspberry and blackberry brambled fruits. The wine feels full of life, with acidity that pulls the palate forward from the first moment, before austerity kicks in on the finish and closes things in, suggesting an extremely long life ahead. Hard to argue with this. Could go up after tasting in bottle, a potential 100 points.