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1998 Château Cheval Blanc St. Émilion Grand Cru Bordeaux France Wine Tasting Note

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1998
Château Cheval Blanc  (St. Émilion Grand Cru)
99
A few more years of age and this could hit 100 Pts. It is a thrill-a-sip wine. The nose is packed with leafy mint, smoke, cherries, licorice, flowers, cocoa, tobacco, and truffles. The wine is intense. full-bodied, opulent, flamboyant and sensuous. This is Cheval Blanc at its sexiest best. The layers and leaves of fruit on the mid-palate and in the seamless finish should stop any winelover in their tracks. Drink from 2024-2060.

A few more years of age and this could hit 100 Pts. It is a thrill-a-sip wine. The nose is packed with leafy mint, smoke, cherries, licorice, flowers, cocoa, tobacco, and truffles. The wine is intense. full-bodied, opulent, flamboyant and sensuous. This is Cheval Blanc at its sexiest best. The layers and leaves of fruit on the mid-palate and in the seamless finish should stop any winelover in their tracks. Drink from 2024-2060.

2,322 Views   Tasted
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Cheval Blanc is an expensive wine. But if you have the disposable income, this is the vintage to buy. Opulent, vibrant, and sensuous, this silky display of concentrated plums and cherries gets better and better with every swirl, sniff, and sip. It is impossible to put your glass down without taking another sip. Give it a bit more time and it should hit triple digits! Drink from 2022-2050.

Cheval Blanc is an expensive wine. But if you have the disposable income, this is the vintage to buy. Opulent, vibrant, and sensuous, this silky display of concentrated plums and cherries gets better and better with every swirl, sniff, and sip. It is impossible to put your glass down without taking another sip. Give it a bit more time and it should hit triple digits! Drink from 2022-2050.

3,265 Views   Tasted
Bottled sex. This is hedonism at its best. The wine is silky, refined, elegant, and pure. There is volume, depth and flowers, cherries, plums, herbs, licorice, and a touch of citrus in the aromatics that knocks you out. The seamless finish is all about its perfectly ripe, sweet, fruits drenched in velvet. Perhaps a bit more volume and this would easily score triple digits.

Bottled sex. This is hedonism at its best. The wine is silky, refined, elegant, and pure. There is volume, depth and flowers, cherries, plums, herbs, licorice, and a touch of citrus in the aromatics that knocks you out. The seamless finish is all about its perfectly ripe, sweet, fruits drenched in velvet. Perhaps a bit more volume and this would easily score triple digits.

4,355 Views   Tasted
This is a future rock star! At 20, it is a stunning tasting experience. The opulent, no, make that decadent texture is a show stopper! The layers of perfectly ripe, sweet, exotic, cherry and plum seem to come in endless waves. You can park your nose in a glass of this for hours. And the best is yet to come. While this is quite pricey, it is probably the best deal for those with the extra income to buy in today's, increasingly, expensive world.

This is a future rock star! At 20, it is a stunning tasting experience. The opulent, no, make that decadent texture is a show stopper! The layers of perfectly ripe, sweet, exotic, cherry and plum seem to come in endless waves. You can park your nose in a glass of this for hours. And the best is yet to come. While this is quite pricey, it is probably the best deal for those with the extra income to buy in today's, increasingly, expensive world.

5,513 Views   Tasted
There is no better vintage of Cheval Blanc for the money the 1998. Pure sensuality on the palate, this is a hedonistic, thrill ride. Silky, sexy, full bodied, concentrated, complex and showy, this is just now starting to show off its layers and levels of charm and pleasures. This is the best showing yet for this stunner.

There is no better vintage of Cheval Blanc for the money the 1998. Pure sensuality on the palate, this is a hedonistic, thrill ride. Silky, sexy, full bodied, concentrated, complex and showy, this is just now starting to show off its layers and levels of charm and pleasures. This is the best showing yet for this stunner.

5,859 Views   Tasted
It's hard to get over how great this wine really is. Picture pure bottled decadence, due to its sensuous textures, blend of ripe and almost over ripe, sweet, lush, velvet drenched fruits that build, expand leave an impression. If you want to know why so many people go crazy over Cheval Blanc, this is the bottle to try.

It's hard to get over how great this wine really is. Picture pure bottled decadence, due to its sensuous textures, blend of ripe and almost over ripe, sweet, lush, velvet drenched fruits that build, expand leave an impression. If you want to know why so many people go crazy over Cheval Blanc, this is the bottle to try.

7,212 Views   Tasted
Cheval Blanc is not cheap. But if you want to know why people pay the amount of money they do for a bottle, 1998 Cheval Blanc is the wine to buy! This is pure silk, velvet and lush, perfectly ripe, polished, sweet plums, truffle, berries, spice, herbs, fennel and earth. Still young, this sensuous wine drinks great today, and will hit rockstar status in a decade!

Cheval Blanc is not cheap. But if you want to know why people pay the amount of money they do for a bottle, 1998 Cheval Blanc is the wine to buy! This is pure silk, velvet and lush, perfectly ripe, polished, sweet plums, truffle, berries, spice, herbs, fennel and earth. Still young, this sensuous wine drinks great today, and will hit rockstar status in a decade!

7,505 Views   Tasted
If you're looking for a great bottle of Cheval Blanc, this is the wine to buy. While it's clearly quite pricey, for Cheval Blanc, it's for some odd reason, still sort of fairly priced. Especially when you consider the sublime, sensuous experience the wine provides. Opulence bordering on decadence on the palate, with a perfume that demands to be bottled, sold and worn, this is only going to get better and better over the years.

If you're looking for a great bottle of Cheval Blanc, this is the wine to buy. While it's clearly quite pricey, for Cheval Blanc, it's for some odd reason, still sort of fairly priced. Especially when you consider the sublime, sensuous experience the wine provides. Opulence bordering on decadence on the palate, with a perfume that demands to be bottled, sold and worn, this is only going to get better and better over the years.

8,081 Views   Tasted
Deep, dark in color and in flavor. Powerful. Polished tannins coupled with incredible levels of concentrated fruit, silky, sexy, decadent textures and long, opulent finish are what you'll find in this wine.

Deep, dark in color and in flavor. Powerful. Polished tannins coupled with incredible levels of concentrated fruit, silky, sexy, decadent textures and long, opulent finish are what you'll find in this wine.

9,691 Views   Tasted
Smoke, truffle, tobacco, black cherry jam, licorice, spice, floral, leaf and forest floor aromas get you going. The wine is fleshy, fresh, concentrated and sports an opulent and exotic texture. The wine is pure velvet and silk on the palate. The finish is long, clean, pure and sensuous. Still young, this offers pleasure today, but the best is yet to come.

Smoke, truffle, tobacco, black cherry jam, licorice, spice, floral, leaf and forest floor aromas get you going. The wine is fleshy, fresh, concentrated and sports an opulent and exotic texture. The wine is pure velvet and silk on the palate. The finish is long, clean, pure and sensuous. Still young, this offers pleasure today, but the best is yet to come.

7,886 Views   Tasted
Still young, this dark colored wine offers up an explosive array of aromatics. Very concentrated for Cheval Blanc. The palate is awash in a sea of sexy, black and red, fruit, spices and herbs. This will be an amazing Cheval with another 5-10 additional years of bottle age.

Still young, this dark colored wine offers up an explosive array of aromatics. Very concentrated for Cheval Blanc. The palate is awash in a sea of sexy, black and red, fruit, spices and herbs. This will be an amazing Cheval with another 5-10 additional years of bottle age.

6,427 Views   Tasted
This is the real deal! It is better than the 82, but not quite at the level of the extraordinary 1990. And that is truly saying something. Silky, rich, exotic and incredibly lush on the palate. Very concentrated, with multiple layers of ripe, black fruits coupled with red fruit accents. The wine ends with a seamless finish that lasts close to sixty seconds! Too bad it can no longer be purchased for what was considered the outrageous sum of $200. Ahhh, those were the good old days.

This is the real deal! It is better than the 82, but not quite at the level of the extraordinary 1990. And that is truly saying something. Silky, rich, exotic and incredibly lush on the palate. Very concentrated, with multiple layers of ripe, black fruits coupled with red fruit accents. The wine ends with a seamless finish that lasts close to sixty seconds! Too bad it can no longer be purchased for what was considered the outrageous sum of $200. Ahhh, those were the good old days.

10,314 Views   Tasted
Better than the 82, but not quite as good as the 90. The nose is explosive. The palate texture is something every wine drinker needs to experience at least once. It is so silky, sexy and exotic. The seamless finish lasts close to :60.

Better than the 82, but not quite as good as the 90. The nose is explosive. The palate texture is something every wine drinker needs to experience at least once. It is so silky, sexy and exotic. The seamless finish lasts close to :60.

6,951 Views   Tasted

When to Drink Chateau Cheval Blanc, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Cheval Blanc can be enjoyed on the young side with decanting, but the wine is much better wine, these days. Young vintages can be decanted for an average of 2-4 hours, give or take.

This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment. Chateau Cheval Blanc is usually better with at least 12-15 years of bottle age.

Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character. Some of the best vintages take over 20 years before they are mature! Chateau Cheval Blanc offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 15-50 or more years of age after the vintage.

Serving Chateau Cheval Blanc with Wine and Food Pairings

Chateau Cheval Blanc is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift. Chateau Cheval Blanc is best paired with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Chateau Cheval Blanc is also good when matched with Asian dishes, rich fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta.

Le Petit Cheval Bordeaux Blanc, the white wine of Cheval Blanc

Starting with the 2015 vintage, Cheval Blanc started producing a dry, white Bordeaux wine called, "Le Petit Cheval Bordeaux Blanc". To avoid confusion with their second wine, Le Petit Cheval, on the label for the white wine the printing is in silver and the bottle will have a silver capsule. For the initial vintages, the wine was produced using 100% Sauvignon Blanc.

Starting with the 2018 vintage, the wine comes from a blend representing the vineyard plantings of 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon planted on a 1.4-hectare parcel of vines. The grapes are planted in the vineyard located just across the road from Cheval Blanc in the vineyards previously used by La Tour du Pin.

As we mentioned earlier, the owners of Cheval Blanc purchased La Tour du Pin in 2006. The first vintages of white wine produced were not available for sale to the public. 2015 is the first commercial vintage.

To produce the wine, the grapes are entirely barreled fermented. There is no malolactic fermentation. The wine is aged in 3, large 400-liter oak barrels. The wine is going to be hard to find as not much is produced. The initial release will be about 400 cases and by 2020, the production should increase to an average of 1,250 cases.

Le Petit Cheval will be sold as a generic AOC white Bordeaux Blanc because AOC law does not allow white wine grapes in Saint Emilion. According to Pierre-Olivier Clouet, the Technical Director of Cheval Blanc who spearheaded the project, the wine reminds him in some ways of a great Sancerre from the Loire Valley.

Cheval Blanc also maintains an interest in the Mendoza region of Argentina where they produce the wine Cheval des Andes.

www.chateau-cheval-blanc.com