2024 Chateau Cheval Blanc, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

So succulent and long on the compacted palate, this shows just enough clean ripe berries as well as cedar and chocolate. This has polished, energizing tannins with a lovely and thoughtful drive, the light austerity giving the wine a push in the finish. Only 12.8% alcohol. A blend of 46% merlot, 48% cabernet franc and 6% cabernet sauvignon.

A blend of 48% Cabernet Franc, 48% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2024 Château Cheval Blanc is one of the stars of the vintage. Unwinding in the glass with notes of minty berries and plums mingled with violets, cigar wrapper and rose petals, it's medium-bodied, suave and complete, with a cool, layered core of fruit, beautifully integrated tannins and a long, aromatic finish. Pierre-Olivier Clouet and his team conducted an aggressive green harvest and also, exceptionally, used densimetric sorting to mitigate heterogenous maturity between and within bunches (a consequence of a protracted flowering), accepting losses to rot in pursuit of full maturity. Yields were 39 hectoliters per hectare at harvest, but some 34% of that was eliminated between sorting and press wine (which is never retained at Cheval Blanc). Of what fermented, however, 70% ended up in the grand vin.

Strawberry and red berry fragrance, a touch herbal, milk chocolate, florality with blackcurrant and cherry. Smooth and supple, this has a softly chalky, almost creamy charm with blue fruits on the palate. Light weight and delicate for sure, but the tannins are extremely well incorporated giving this a round frame. Finessed, not too tight at all, relaxed. More vertical acidity behind that pushes the flavours forward. Layered and complex with the saltiness coming in on the finish. It’s easy to drink and super refreshing. Classic but with charm rather than tension and too much coolness. Really balanced but still nuanced on the finish, this is multi-layered. I like this a lot. 3.61pH. Densimetric sorting. 70% grand vin production. Vinified 28hl/ha.

Comprised of 37 parcels on the estate and a blend of 48% Cabernet Franc, 46% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2024 Château Cheval Blanc will spend at least 18 months in new barrels. Classic Cheval Blanc Cabernet notes of cassis, spring flowers, graphite, and scorched earth all emerge on the nose, and this beauty is medium to full-bodied, has a beautiful mid-palate, the focused, elegant style of the vintage, and impressive concentration. It's an elegant, very classic Bordelaise vintage for this estate, and the wine will need just 4-6 years of bottle age and will evolve gracefully.

Lilac, peony flowers, same family of aromatics as the Petit Cheval, same feeling of finesse and precision, but here everything has been taken up a notch, more density, more slate and pumice stone texture. Expect subtle complexity, a wine that steals up on you, impresses in its precision and clarity. July and August just 20mm of rain each month, well below 30 year average, 140mm rain in September, highest since 2006, harvest September 18 to October 3, 3.62ph (3.9ph in 2022), 37 plots out of the 56 in the vineyard are in here. 100% new oak for ageing. Looking forward to seeing after ageing, it has all the elements and bones in place for a totally delicious Cheval.

The 2024 Cheval Blanc was picked from September 18 until October 3 and aged entirely in new oak with a little dabbling in concrete tanks and amphorae. The purity on the nose is the first facet that you notice with perfumed black cherry, blackcurrant, wild strawberry and touches of potpourri and crushed stone. There is certainly some mineralité here. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly brittle tannins. Very well balanced, this is clearly a Cheval Blanc built in a more elegant, sapid, linear style with a residual pepperiness that lingers in the mouth. It will need just 2 or 3 years in bottle and should drink well for 20 to 25 years. The 2024 is charming and refined.

The 2024 Cheval Blanc is a blend taken from 37 of the 45 parcels on the property. Dried flowers, mocha, rose petal and blood orange open nicely in the bouquet, leading to an understated mid-palate and a subtly persistent finish. Understated and nuanced, the 2024 offers lovely forward fruit in a soft, accessible style with no hard edges or awkward contours. All the elements are nicely put together, and yet there is no denying the fact that the 2024 is very light. Élevage will be everything here.

48% Cabernet Franc, 46% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. 28 hl/ha. 54% of the harvest. Cask sample. Cabernet-led with the Merlot fleshing out the middle and providing identity. Plenty of freshness with fine, integrated tannins providing length and persistence. Light to medium weight but the oak (new) completely absorbed. Dark-fruit notes again on the finish. Less seductive than some years but has potential. (JL)