| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
Cheval Blanc's second label is used for fruit not considered up to the quality level required for the grand vin but still of a high standard. It's not produced every year.
View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Cheval Blanc
This is so floral and beautiful with roses, violets and some lavender. Spices and stems, too. Medium-bodied, firm and bright with compact density to the wine. Beautiful tannins. This is extremely structured. Second wine of Cheval Blanc. 56% merlot and 44% cabernet franc. Try after 2027.
Exhibiting aromas of plums, sweet wild berries, rose petals, spices and cigar wrapper, the 2019 Le Petit Cheval is medium to full-bodied, velvety and seamless, with supple tannins and succulent acids. Pierre-Olivier Clouet explains that his aspiration is to produce 100% Cheval Blanc and that, as a result, this cuvée simply represents anything that doesn't belong in the grand vin's blend. Of course, however, it shares some of the latter's DNA. Drink 2021-2045.
A blend of 56% Merlot and 44% Cabernet Franc, the 2019 Le Petit Cheval is deep garnet-purple in color. It bursts with flamboyant notions of baked plums, blueberry preserves, and kirsch, plus suggestions of cedar chest and lavender. The full-bodied palate is bright, refreshing, and breezy with fine-grained tannins and a mineral-laced finish.
This is a gorgeous rippling wine with a clear muscular frame. It's a year where there are more tannins than in 2018, and this has a wonderful two-step, fruit tannin fruit tannin rhythm that propels the wine forward through the palate. Iris flowers and berry fruit, with smoked-tinged cedar oak. Harvest September 10 to October 4. Drinking Window 2025 - 2038
Tasted blind. More moderately perfumed than some. Cool and refreshing – balm for a taster. Long and detailed. Good acidity and juicy without that much tannin. Early drinking? 14.5%
Drink 2025– 2038
There will be a Petit Cheval in 2019, and it will be a blend of 56% Merlot with fully 44% Cabernet Franc. Deep purple in colour, with a deep brooding nose of fresh forest fruits and hints of red berries. The palate is juicy and exotic, red cherries pairing with szechuan pepper, cedar and star anise. Cashmere textured tannins gently hug the fruit, persistent but ripe. Though compact through the mid-palate this flourishes on the finish, suggesting at the potential to come. Tasted in Bordeaux.
The 2019 Château Cheval Blanc Le Petit Cheval is a solid (better than solid, actually) second wine offering beautiful elegance, purity, and finesse, which is what this estate does better than anyone. Complex notes of red and black currants, forest floor, cedarwood, and tobacco all define the bouquet, and it's medium-bodied, with silky, fine-grained tannins, no hard edges, and just a seamless, elegant, layered style that will drink spectacularly well for 10-15 years.
56% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Franc. 6% of production. Barrel sample.
Perfumed, floral nose with an innate sweetness that stays through to the palate. Perhaps not quite as fragrant as 2018. Round and flattering on the palate, the attack direct, texture smooth and tannins finely honed. Point of acidity for freshness. Decent length. (JL)
Drink 2024 – 2034
It's worth noting that no plots at Cheval Blanc are specifically dedicated to this second wine and that some plots are out of commission each year for replanting. "The 5 plots that went into the second wine this year were all in Cheval Blanc in 2018. These are among our best plots!," said Pierre Olivier Clouet. "This accounts for a little over 5% of production." The 2019 Le Petit Cheval is a blend of 56% Merlot and 44% Cabernet Franc. Deep purple-black in color, it charges out of the gate with bold expressions of plum preserves, chocolate-covered cherries, licorice, and sandalwood, plus hints of dusty soil, Ceylon tea, and lavender. Full-bodied, dense, and with wonderfully plush tannins, it has loads of savory layers and just enough freshness, finishing long.
