Chateau Cheval Blanc 2018

WEINWISSER: "Tiefes Purpur mit opaker Mitte und hauchdünnem rubinrotem Rand. Ein erotisches Parfüm nach frisch gepflückten Alpenheidelbeeren, Thymian und erkaltetem Jasmin-Tee. Im zweiten Ansatz helles Malz, Frühlingstrüffel und Kardamom. Am royalen Gaumen mit einer Textur wie Kaschmir, perfekt reifes Tannin, gut stützend mit einem perfekt geformten Körper, der an David von Michelangelo erinnert. Im kaskadenartigen Finale mit Brasiltabak, tiefschürfender dunkler Mineralik. Das ist St.-Émilion in Perfektion, daher zücke ich die 20er Karte – Gratulation an Pierre-Olivier Clouet!"

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, dezente Randaufhellung. Feiner Nougat, unterlegt mit süßen Gewürzen, reife schwarze Beerenfrucht, reife Pflaumen, zart nach Orangenzesten. Kraftvoll, zeigt eine enorme Extraktsüße, feste, tragende, vollreife Tannine, große Komplexität und Süße, zeigt enorme Frische und Eleganz, bleibt minutenlang haften."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "If awards were given out for sensuality, this gem would take the trophy. Incredibly sexy, with its velvet drenched textures, silky tannins and opulent personality, this wine stands out in a crowd. The nose, with its aromatic display of flowers, plums, cherries, espresso, licorice, dark cocoa and oyster shell is compelling. The seamless finish crosses the 60 second mark with its non-stop display of concentrated, perfectly ripe, dark sweet, red fruits, chocolate, licorice and spice. If you can afford it, it is a wine you should have in your cellar and you'll want to age this for at least 15 years before popping a bottle. The wine was made using 54% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5% ABV. This wine is a legend in the making."

JAMES SUCKLING: "Love the floral character to the aromas of dark fruit, such as blueberries and black cherries. Red and black licorice, too. The full-bodied palate starts slowly and then expands with super polished, searing tannins that lead you up the palate into a place of grandeur. Lightly chewy at the end. Such great purity and presence here. 6% cabernet sauvignon in the blend with franc and merlot. Try after 2028."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2018 Cheval Blanc is a blend of 54% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, with a 3.75 pH and 14.5% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs considerable swirling and air to releases fragrant notes of stewed plums, juicy black cherries and ripe blackberries with underlying suggestions of damp soil, black truffles, rose oil and cardamom with wafts of underbrush and iron ore. The medium to full-bodied palate is densely packed with rich black fruits and loads of earthy accents, framed by super firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness to balance, finishing with amazing length and a beautiful array of floral and mineral sparks. Thirty-three plots contributed to this wine, out of the forty-three in production. Of the rest, five went into Petit Cheval and five into bulk. It will need a good 6-7 years at least to really start to strut its stuff and should cellar for a further 30 years or more."

JEB DUNNUCK: "Showing beautifully from barrel and now from bottle, the 2018 Château Cheval Blanc is a final blend of 54% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon. It's a pure, classic Cheval Blanc in that it relies more on complexity and elegance than power, offering a beautiful perfume of red and blackcurrants, spring flowers, spice, forest floor, incense, and tobacco. This carries to a medium to full-bodied Cheval Blanc offering wonderful purity of fruit, a seamless, layered texture, incredible tannins, and a lengthy, focused finish. It shows less of the sunny style of the vintage now than it did from barrel, and it's a wonderfully complete wine that delivers awesome freshness in its aromatics, plenty of ripe, sweet fruit, and the tannins and structure that seem to come from a long, cooler season. Reminding me slightly of the 2016, with a touch of the 2001, give this gorgeous wine 5-7 years of bottle age, count yourself lucky, and enjoy over the following 2-3 decades."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "Dense layers of black fruits mingle with dusty tannins in this wine. The powerful structure is beautifully balanced with ripe fruitiness in harmony with the concentration of the wine's texture. This wine will age well. Drink from 2027."

WINE SPECTATOR: "This has the vintage's profile, with a sleek and slightly austere frame holding a core of cassis, bitter cherry and raspberry coulis notes tightly together while flashes of bay, dried anise and savory add range and detail. Has a late tug of warm earth along with a very perfumy echo through the finish. A beauty. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2024 through 2038. 10,208 cases made. — JM"

DECANTER: "Lovely ripeness on the nose, full of dense Morello cherries and milk chocolate notes, this feels round and just very complete. It has a density on the palate immediately, voluminous with chalky, gentle gripping tannins, almost chewy on the second taste, that fill the mouth. Generous and expansive. Voluptuous fruit with a capitvating and satisfying texture, it's really the mouthfeel that's in focus, big and wide - coating the mouth. Flavours are concentrated around blackcurrant and black cherry with some sweet strawberry and soft chalkiness as well as a touch of sweet liquorice too. Clear depth and power though still youthful and somewhat shy. An excellent Cheval."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "54% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. Barrel sample. Deepest cherry red. Pure cassis, with a more savoury mineral aspect and opening to become more scented. Very, very fresh. Dark and mineral on the palate. Extremely fine tannic texture. More savoury, with that dark finesse on the finish. Long, chalky finish, so dry and yet so elegant. (JH)"