| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Cheval Blanc
Extremely perfumed and beautiful with currant and cherry aromas and just a hint of flowers. Medium body, very fine tannins and sheer polish and beauty. Lovely fruit. Want to drink it now, but it’ll be better in 2019. Second wine of Cheval Blanc.
Tasted blind. Some super-ripe black cherry notes on the nose with a bit of mint. Rather Derenoncourt-like in its burgundian sweet structure! Wild and gamey.
Drink 2020-2030
Very charming, with bright red currant and damson plum fruit, laced with a lively minerality and a lilting bergamot note. Long and silky, this is almost approachable now, but the acidity is so fine that this could be sneakily long-lived in the cellar.
The 2014 Le Petit Cheval, a blend of 52% Merlot and 48% Cabernet Franc, has a crisp, tightly wound bouquet with blackberry, black olive (as per its primeur sample) and a subtle estuarine undercurrent that becomes more conspicuous with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red berry fruit intermingling with white pepper, clove and a pinch of Chinese five spice. It has moderate depth, a sense of approachability in that the tannins do not really grip the mouth, and the latter half appears appealingly smooth and harmonious. There are no rough edges here, just a touch of frisson on the saline finish. Very fine, a Saint Emilion Deuxième Vin to drink over the next decade. Drink Date 2018-2028
The Le Petit Cheval 2014 is a blend of 52% Merlot and 48% Cabernet Franc, representing 25% of the production. Matured in 50% new oak and 50% one-year old wood, it has a voluminous bouquet with black olive-tinged, raspberry and wild strawberry fruit, hints of vanilla developing with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin. There is a linearity here, a strictness and poise. It does not have a fantail of concentrated fruit on the finish, but it does linger in the mouth and delivers an unexpected tang of Shezhuan pepper on the after taste. As my score implies, this deuxième vin is equal to many a Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé. Drink: 2018 - 2030.
Very firm and fresh with blueberry, blackberry and chocolate. Full body, firm tannins. This is long and deep. A very beautiful second wine.
