Château Cheval-Blanc - St.-Emilion 2011
Price: $699.99
| Producer | Château Cheval-Blanc |
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| Country | France |
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| Region | Bordeaux |
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| Subregion | St.-Emilion |
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| Varietal | Bordeaux Blanc |
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| Vintage | 2011 |
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| Sku | 30263 |
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Jeb Dunnuck: 96 Points
A vintage that’s being drunk with abandon in France these days, the 2011 Chateau Cheval Blanc showed beautifully, and the firm tannins that define this vintage are nowhere to be found here. Sweet black fruits, spice, incense, and exotic flowers define the bouquet and it has classic Cheval Blanc complexity. Medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, with sweet tannins and a great finish, it’s a beautiful Saint-Emilion to drink over the coming 2-3 decades.
Wine Enthusiast: 95 Points
This is an opulent, dense wine, very perfumed while also structured. It is complex, full of rich fruit that pours through the wood and dark tannin. It just hints at a more exuberant future, flavored with the ripest fruits while still keeping freshness.
Wine Spectator: 94 Points
Offers a loamy, dense feel, with the vintage's briary grip tumbled with dark plum, blackberry and black currant fruit. Anise and tobacco notes fill out the finish, which expands steadily with air, showing added range and echoes of bittersweet cocoa and tobacco. Seems to have a lot in reserve.
James Suckling: 94 Points
A beautiful nose of ripe black fruits such blackberries, as well as cocoa, black truffle and mint. Full body with a solid core of very refined tannins that lasts for minutes. Very refined texture, especially for the vintage. Try after seven to eight years.
Vinous: 94 Points
The 2011 Cheval Blanc has a classic nose with blackberry, briary, cedar and pine aromas. The Cabernet Sauvignon makes its mark. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, still a little chalky as I remember, hints of blue fruit emerging with time. I admire the symmetry and poise of this Cheval Blanc and despite some broodiness on the finish, this is turning into a very promising wine from an oft-overlooked vintage.
Decanter Magazine: 94 Points
The first vintage in the new cellar. Elegantly dark fruited aromas with cacao and cedar. Youthful impression on the palate, with raspberries and redcurrant crispness. The palate builds to a dense core with firm tannins and a refined underlying freshness. A warm, generous finish, round, ripe and black.
Wine Advocate: 94 Points
Medium to deep garnet in color, the 2011 Cheval Blanc features a nose of warm mulberries, preserved plums and figs with suggestions of dried herbs, dusty soil and underbrush plus a touch of Sichuan pepper. Medium to full-bodied, taut and muscular in the mouth, it has a solid frame of chewy tannins supporting the restrained fruit and a long earth and Provence herbs-layered finish.
