Super-spicy, this is an extremely elegant 2009 with enormous concentration and finesse. The complex finish lights up the sky and you wonder how this spectacular ripeness could have been more perfectly expressed. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019) - Stuart Pigott, jamessuckling.com, March 2019

The harvest for the 2009 Cheval Blanc began in mid-September and finished on October 8. One of this estate’s greatest wines, the 2009 (58% Merlot and 42% Cabernet Franc) came in at 13.5% natural alcohol (some lots were as high as 14.5%). The wine exhibits sumptuous aromatics of subtle menthol intermixed with caramel, black raspberries, mulberries, kirsch, and cassis. With a stupendous opulence and a fleshy mouthfeel, but no heaviness or fatigue, this dense wine is staggeringly concentrated, very full-bodied, powerful, and silky smooth. Irresistible already, it is almost frightening to think how compelling this beauty should be in a few years. (Tasted once.) Anticipated maturity: 2015-2050.

The 2009 Cheval Blanc has a rambunctious nose with copious red fruit, meat juices, sage and crushed stone aromas, ineffably complex. This is so refined, constantly mutating in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, saturated tannin. There is a mixture of red and black fruit, hints of cassis, cardamom and allspice. Immense depth and grip towards the finish expresses ripe Cabernet Franc. This is an outstanding 2009 destined for long-term ageing.

Quality 981 | Brand 995 | Economics 910 | buzz brand
Quality: Predicted life of 15 years, one of the longest drinking windows in its peer group, which averages 10 years Brand: Strong restaurant presence, featuring on 40 of the world's top wine lists, including Garibaldi Economics: More traded at auction than its peers, its top 5 vintages having seen 2,982 75cl equivalent bottles traded in the past year Production: Lower yields than its peer group average of 33 hl/ha

- www.wine-lister.com June 2017

(a 60/40 blend of merlot and cabernet franc; pH 3.82; 13.7% alcohol; a 65% selection) Ruby-purple. Knockout nose offers deep aromas of cassis, minerals, cedar, cocoa and coffee. Then very rich and creamy in the mouth, with luscious, extremely concentrated flavors of blackcurrant, blueberry, raspberry liqueur and cedar. Finishes pure and extremely long, with velvety tannins and a delicate smoke and mineral notes. Though this is an amazingly refined wine, it also strikes me as a much bigger Cheval Blanc than usual, but it doesn't go over the top like many other wines do in '09. Not unlike the 1998 or the 2000, but with more power than the former wine and more grace than the latter. Director Pierre Lurton told me he worries that this wine may be underrated during the spring tastings, as is often the case with Cheval Blanc. This superlative wine should age splendidly for decades.

Bright red-ruby. Flamboyant yet classy aromas and flavors of raspberry, mocha, coffee and herbs. Like liquid velvet in the mouth, but with great lift and perfume giving the wine outstanding inner-palate verve. Wonderfully rich and classically dry Cheval with noble tannins, strong mineral energy and great lingering aromatic character. Atypically full and approachable for young Cheval Blanc but I'm not complaining. One of the longest wines of the vintage, and among my handful of favorites.

Very ripe, roasted black fruit on the nose, but without excess, overripeness or raisin character; rich, concentrated, dense and tannic wine, with a vital 'red fruit' acidity defining and giving relief to the fruit mass; black fruit ripeness with a dense mineral core, framed by fine, firm tannin, very long and complex across the palate, great clinging persistence on the finish. A Cheval of great density and a clear, but utterly refined, masculine style. If there is a similar ripeness to 1990 and 1998, there is a less immediately seductive, fleshy sensuality; instead we have more matter, more structure, and more long term promise. Effortlessly compact. Very fine, long term Cheval, with great scope, presence, length and prospects. Will need 15 years at least. Drink 2025-50. [60M/40CF]

Beautiful fragrance! So smooth and confident. Gorgeous already – those famous cashmere tannins as vaunted by Pierre Lurton of Cheval Blanc, but an appetisingly dry finish. (JR)

100 pts - Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Cheval Blanc offers up profound notions of baked blueberries, blackberry compote and crème de cassis with suggestions of chocolate mint, new leather and cloves plus a waft of candied violets. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is an exercise in elegance with very classy, super fine-grained tannins, beautiful freshness and layer upon layer of mineral-laced blue and black fruits, finishing long and perfumed. - March 2019, Lisa Perrotti Brown

100 pts - It will be fascinating to follow the evolution of the 2009 Cheval Blanc versus the 2010 as well as the awesome 2005, 2000, 1998 and 1990. This famous estate’s vineyard is situated at the juncture of Pomerol and the sandy, gravelly soils of St.-Emilion, facing the two noble estates of l’Evangile and La Conseillante. A blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, the 2009 Cheval Blanc tips the scales at just under 14% natural alcohol. Its dense blue/purple color is accompanied by an extraordinary nose of incense, raspberries, cassis, sweet forest floor and a subtle hint of menthol. Opulent and full-bodied with low acidity but no sense of heaviness, this dense, unctuously textured, super-smooth, velvety, pure, profound Cheval Blanc is impossible to resist despite its youthfulness. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2050+.
99 points – Robert Parker (Wine Advocate #199, Feb 2012)

Reminding me a little of the 2015, the 2009 Chateau Cheval Blanc is another powerful yet elegant wine that tops out on my scale. A huge nose of kirsch, cassis, flowery spices, forest floor, and tobacco all give way to a full-bodied, sweetly fruited 2009 that has no hard edges, perfect balance, integrated, perfectly ripe tannins, and a finish that won’t quit. It’s one of those magical wines that carries enormous richness and depth yet stays weightless and ethereal on the palate. Bravo!

So good, it has been the benchmark Cheval Blanc for the past 15 years, and continues to deliver just exceptional quality. Lean in to the poised, confident ruby red fruits, pomegranate, loganberry, cassis, studded with cloves, turmeric, cappuccino and violet flowers, with an undertone of pulsing minerality. 50% new oak for ageing. Tasted alongside the rest of the lineup, and a reminder that in St Emilion when many estates were making winemaking choices led by the market, the best were focused on the voice of their own vineyard. This will age from here for decades, but it is already a pleasure to drink.

Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Cheval Blanc offers up profound notions of baked blueberries, blackberry compote and crème de cassis with suggestions of chocolate mint, new leather and cloves plus a waft of candied violets. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is an exercise in elegance with very classy, super fine-grained tannins, beautiful freshness and layer upon layer of mineral-laced blue and black fruits, finishing long and perfumed.