The complex, explosively fragrant 1999 Cheval Blanc is a blend of 59% Merlot and 41% Cabernet Franc. It is already showing well, which is a good sign for a wine that traditionally is reserved early in life, but puts on weight and richness in the bottle. Stylistically, this wine is probably cut from the same mold as vintages such as 1985, 1966, and 1962. The color is a dense ruby with purple nuances. Once past the blockbuster bouquet of menthol, leather, black fruits, licorice, and mocha, the wine reveals medium body, extraordinary elegance, purity, and sweet, harmonious flavors with no hard edges. This is a seamless beauty of finesse, charm, and concentration. The 1999 is an exciting Cheval Blanc to drink relatively young. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2022.

61% merlot and 39% cabernet franc): Good full ruby. Crystallized blackcurrant, licorice, cedar and menthol on the nose, complicated by cocoa and smoky minerals. Round and ripe but not thick or heavy on the palate, featuring tangy flavors of black cherry, licorice, graphite and spices. At once creamy and juicy, with good breadth and fine tannins. Over the years, I have had the unique opportunity and privilege (for which I am grateful to both Lurton and Van Leeuwen) to taste the single lots of pure cabernet franc and merlot from this and other vintages (the estate sets aside a small number of such bottles every vintage for purposes of study and analysis), and it's an amazingly instructive exercise. Though the final blend is better than the single lots, the fact that the estate's second wine, Le Petit Cheval, was 61% cabernet franc (with 2% malbec!) in 1999 and that it is a pretty amazing wine leads me to question the wisdom of having included so much merlot in the final assemblage of the 1999 Cheval Blanc. (Note that the percentages of the final blend I report are those given me by Van Leeuwen, while some other references have listed the 1999 blend at 59% merlot and 41% cabernet franc.) The vintage was a hot one, with higher than average temperatures in almost every month of the growth cycle, leading to an early harvest in mid-September (whereas the annual average is closer to September 20-25).

Medium ruby-red. Spicy, floral aromas of blueberry, violet pastille, licorice, bitter chocolate and black pepper. Very concentrated but currently tightly wound. An elegantly styled wine that can't match the 2000 for sheer layered richness, but impressively juicy and bright for the year. I may have slightly underrated this a year ago. This will not be bottled until November.

The 1999 Cheval Blanc is a vintage that has never quite rocked my boat, and at 20 years of age, it still doesn’t. The bouquet feels a little simple and quite high-toned for Cheval Blanc, driven by the Merlot and trying too hard to impress. The palate is medium-bodied with robust tannin and sweet candied red berry fruit tinged with orange peel and brown spices. I appreciate the density, though it is not a precise Cheval Blanc and lacks a bit of personality. One more thing: it does not put sufficient distance between itself and Le Petit Cheval. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the estate.