Visits

Château Cheval Blanc
Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé A (France)


 

Most if not all wine amateurs have heard of Cheval Blanc, which has existed since the 18th Century and is one of the 2 Premiers Grands Crus Classés A of Saint-Émilion (with Château Ausone). So what’s in a name? Well, although the estate is in the Saint-Emilion appellation, it is located at the border of the Pomerol appellation, where its unique blue clay soils planted mostly with Cabernet Franc, produce distinctive and atypical Saint-Émilion wines.
 

Château Cheval Blanc, 2004
Good. Clear garnet colour, powerful nose with balanced aromas of raspberry and blackcurrant, a little dry on the palate, pleasant taste of leather and blackcurrant, distinct and rather dry tannins on the finish. Blend of 42% Merlot, 58% Cabernet Franc. (Mar 2007)

Le Petit Cheval, 2004
Good. Deep garnet colour with a light red ring, delicate nose of blackcurrant and smoky wood, rather fine on the palate but a little thin, a touch of acidity on the finish, delicate tannins, medium length. Blend of 53% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Franc. (Mar 2007)
 

Ownership & Management
Bernard Arnault and Baron Albert Frère (owners since 1998). Pierre Lurton (director), Thierry Garraud (25 years as the estate’s cellar-master), Olivier Berrouet (quality director).

Winemakers, Consultants
Gilles Pauquet (winemaker), Kees Van Leeuwen (consulting winemaker)
 

Vineyard
41 ha (single plot) of which 37 ha are currently in production, spread over 31 parcels. Vines are about 40 years old and composed of 60% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot. Yields on average of 35 hl/ha, and up to 40 hl/ha for the Cabernet Franc.

About 40% of the soils are composed of clay (a deep surface of sand and gravel lies over a compact layer of sand and blue clay, which itself sits on a layer of iron-containing sand and gravel).  Depending on the year, grapes grown on sandier soils will be used to produce Le Petit Cheval. The estate conducts meticulous and lot-specific work in the vineyard and during the winemaking process.

Manual harvesting is carried out by 100-150 persons. Grapes are first sorted manually in the vineyard, then mechanically on the sorting table, de-stemmed mechanically, then sorted manually a final time before being lightly crushed.
 

Winemaking
Lightly crushed grapes are poured into stainless steel and concrete vinification tanks where the alcoholic fermentation takes place (about 3 weeks), followed by malolactic fermentation, which also takes place in tanks (to better control hygiene and because the wines do not need added structure that oak barrel fermentation may impart).

Wines are aged in 100% new French oak barrels procured from 5 different cooperage houses. French oak is used to avoid the dominant woody taste that other oaks tend to impart to wines. The Château Cheval Blanc is aged 16-18 months while Le Petit Cheval is aged about 12 months. Depending on the year, the vin de presse (which is extracted using a pneumatic press) may be incorporated into Château Cheval Blanc or Le Petit Cheval. After aging and before bottling, the wines are fined with egg whites.

Both wines are made and aged using the same methods but differ in their composition, which is determined at the blending stage (which takes place during the aging process). The blend is usually about 50% Cabernet Franc, 50% Merlot, with a little more Cabernet Franc. The dominance of Cabernet Franc may vary depending on the year, as in 2004.

Wines
. Château Cheval Blanc (20,000 bottles/year)
. Le Petit Cheval (35,000 bottles/year)