2005 Château Cheval Blanc, St Emilion, Bordeaux

2005 Château Cheval Blanc, St Emilion, Bordeaux

Product: 20058003285
Prices start from £1,807.00 per magnum (150cl). Buying options
2005 Château Cheval Blanc, St Emilion, Bordeaux

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Magnum (150cl)
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Description

Harvest September 12 to 27, 42hl/h yield. 100% new oak, 57% of overall production, no press wine. Vinified in the old cellar, and this is three years before the arrival of current technical director Pierre Olivier Clouet, with Thierry Garnrud cellar master, Pierre Lurton director.

Almost equal proportions of Cabernet and Merlot, summing up how balanced the 2005 vintage was. Rosehip, rose petal, ripe raspberry fruits. Now beginning to open up, even inching towards tertiary with its wisps of florality and tobacco but still with so much power and concentration. This is right up there as one of the wines of the vintage, with huge complexity, touches of Asian spice, and mint leaf, you really feel just how much is going on in the glass.

Plenty of Cheval signature in its classicism and balance, with a moreish bitter almond and salted cracker signoff. I last had this three or four years ago and it was not ready, but it has flipped the switch now and can be enjoyed with a good few hours in a carafe. Unrolls in the glass, with decades ahead of it.

Drink 2022 - 2060

Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com (June 2022)

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Critics reviews

Neal Martin, Vinous98/100

The 2005 Cheval Blanc has a very intense bouquet, conveying so much energy that it almost knocks you sideways. That strong marine influence remains, and the aromatics have opened up since I last tasted it. The palate is medium-bodied with a firm backbone, yet more pliant than previous bottles, offering dense black fruit laced with mint and quite a potent saline note that drives the finish. This is surprisingly peppery on the incredibly long aftertaste. Awesome, but it needs more time. 

Tasted from an ex-château bottle at Berry Bros. & Rudd.

Drink 2021 - 2060

Neal Martin, Vinous.com (December 2019)

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Antonio Galloni, Vinous100/100

The 2005 Cheval Blanc has been nothing less than magical on two separate occasions. A wine of breathtaking nuance and sophistication, the 2005 Cheval dazzles right out of the gate. With a few hours of aeration, the aromatics blossom and the wine is explosive in every dimension. Espresso, rose petal, mint, blood orange and incense all open as the 2005 shows off its magnificence and pedigree. Bright saline underpinnings convey energy, tension and brilliance. Cheval Blanc is perhaps not as immediately seductive as some of the other top 2005s, but it's all there. In spades. I would give it a few more years to unwind.

Drink 2025 - 2055

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (April 2021)

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Jane Anson99/100

Harvest September 12 to 27, 42hl/h yield. 100% new oak, 57% of overall production, no press wine. Vinified in the old cellar, and this is three years before the arrival of current technical director Pierre Olivier Clouet, with Thierry Garnrud cellar master, Pierre Lurton director.

Almost equal proportions of Cabernet and Merlot, summing up how balanced the 2005 vintage was. Rosehip, rose petal, ripe raspberry fruits. Now beginning to open up, even inching towards tertiary with its wisps of florality and tobacco but still with so much power and concentration. This is right up there as one of the wines of the vintage, with huge complexity, touches of Asian spice, and mint leaf, you really feel just how much is going on in the glass.

Plenty of Cheval signature in its classicism and balance, with a moreish bitter almond and salted cracker signoff. I last had this three or four years ago and it was not ready, but it has flipped the switch now and can be enjoyed with a good few hours in a carafe. Unrolls in the glass, with decades ahead of it.

Drink 2022 - 2060

Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com (June 2022)

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Wine Advocate100/100

50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Merlot.

The 2005 from Cheval Blanc is a quintessentially elegant, beautiful, deep bluish/ruby-coloured wine from St.-Emilion, with raspberry, blueberry, and floral notes, impressive density, great precision, freshness and purity. Full-bodied, but extremely light on its feet, I don’t mean to gush, but it is super-intense, rich and just so meticulously crafted! This is another fabulous wine and a perfect expression for this vintage. It is difficult to forget the gorgeous blueberry and raspberry fruit, full body, sweet tannin, multi-layered texture, and purity and palate presence of this stunning wine.

Drink 2015 - 2025

Robert M. Parker, Jr., Wine Advocate (June 2015)

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Jancis Robinson MW19/20

This double magnum was extraordinarily drinkable. I don't know whether the wine had been carefully double-decanted; it was poured straight from the big bottle. But this was amazingly approachable. It was spicy, dense, sweet and scented. I'm sure a long and glorious life lies ahead too. 

Drink 2013 - 2040

Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (December 2015)

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James Suckling98/100

Always a fabulous nose of black fruit, dark chocolate, nuts and spices. It's full-bodied with beautifully dense tannins reminiscent of cashmere. A long, long finish rounds out this beautiful wine. It would be better to leave it alone until 2020 but so hard not to revel in its splendor now.

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (November 2015)

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Decanter97/100

57% of the wine went into the Grand Vin, 26% Le Petit Cheval and 17% the 3ème vin.

Subtle, complex, alluring aromatics. The palate is exceptionally smooth, ripe and intense with blackcurrant fruit, full and fleshy, lifted with freshness and with very fine tannin running through. Glorious! A very dry year, warm but without 2003’s heatwave, creating small berries, with a concentration of tannin, acid, and colour delivering.

Drink 2019 - 2030

Michael Morris, Decanter.com (November 2019)

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Jeb Dunnuck100/100

A magical showing, the 2005 Chateau Cheval Blanc is a powerful, deep, incredibly massive wine by this estate’s standards, yet it nevertheless never loses a sense of elegance, purity, and finesse. Bombastic notes of cassis, flowery incense, tobacco leaf, and dried soil all flow to a full-bodied red that has sweet, integrated tannins, a beautiful mid-palate, flawless balance, and a huge finish. It’s drinking shockingly well today, and my money is on it continuing to show this way for another three decades.

Drink 2019 - 2049

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (June 2019)

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Stephen Tanzer96+/100

Good deep ruby-red. Knockout nose offers terrific vinosity to the aromas of dark raspberry, mocha, minerals, liquorice, menthol and dark chocolate. Lush, fat and suave, with superb energy and lift to the fine-grained, palate-staining flavours. Despite its rather high 14% alcohol, this boasts near-perfect balance and finishes with outstanding verve. A great vintage for Cheval, and likely to improve in bottle for at least two or three decades.

Stephen Tanzer, Vinous.com (May 2008)

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About this WINE

Chateau Cheval Blanc

Chateau Cheval Blanc

Château Cheval Blanc, a 1er Grand Cru Classé (A) is unquestionably the leading estate in St. Emilion. It is located in the north-west of the St. Emilion appellation, bordering Pomerol.

Cheval Blanc's vineyards (Merlot 39%, Cabernet Franc 57%, Malbec 3%, Cabernet Sauvignon 1%) enjoy a variety of soils: gravel, clay and sand, all underpinned by an impermeable sedimentary rock (`crasse de fer'). Fermentation and maceration last 4 weeks in stainless steel vats, followed by 18 months' maturation in new oak barrels.

Cheval Blanc produces the most famous Cabernet Franc-based wine in the world and present régisseur Pierre Lurton is amongst the most talented winemakers working in Bordeaux today. Cheval Blanc requires a minimum 10 years of bottle age and the best vintages can last for 50 years or more.

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St Émilion

St Émilion

St Émilion is one of Bordeaux's largest producing appellations, producing more wine than Listrac, Moulis, St Estèphe, Pauillac, St Julien and Margaux put together. St Emilion has been producing wine for longer than the Médoc but its lack of accessibility to Bordeaux's port and market-restricted exports to mainland Europe meant the region initially did not enjoy the commercial success that funded the great châteaux of the Left Bank. 

St Émilion itself is the prettiest of Bordeaux's wine towns, perched on top of the steep limestone slopes upon which many of the region's finest vineyards are situated. However, more than half of the appellation's vineyards lie on the plain between the town and the Dordogne River on sandy, alluvial soils with a sprinkling of gravel. 

Further diversity is added by a small, complex gravel bed to the north-east of the region on the border with Pomerol.  Atypically for St Émilion, this allows Cabernet Franc and, to a lesser extent, Cabernet Sauvignon to prosper and defines the personality of the great wines such as Ch. Cheval Blanc.  

In the early 1990s there was an explosion of experimentation and evolution, leading to the rise of the garagistes, producers of deeply-concentrated wines made in very small quantities and offered at high prices.  The appellation is also surrounded by four satellite appellations, Montagne, Lussac, Puisseguin and St. Georges, which enjoy a family similarity but not the complexity of the best wines.

St Émilion was first officially classified in 1954, and is the most meritocratic classification system in Bordeaux, as it is regularly amended. The most recent revision of the classification was in 2012

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Merlot/Cabernet Franc

Merlot/Cabernet Franc

Merlot and Cabernet Franc are grape varieties commonly used in Bordeaux-style blends, particularly in the Bordeaux region of France. When these two grapes are blended, they can create a wine that combines the best characteristics of each variety.

Merlot is known for its smoothness, soft tannins, and ripe fruit flavours. It often contributes black cherry, plum, and chocolate flavours to the blend. The grapes are relatively easy to grow and ripen earlier than other Bordeaux varieties, making them versatile for blending.

Cabernet Franc, on the other hand, adds structure, depth, and complexity to the blend. It typically brings aromas of red fruits such as raspberry and strawberry, along with herbal notes like bell pepper and tobacco. These grapes have thinner skins and can be more challenging to cultivate, requiring specific growing conditions to reach their full potential.

When Merlot and Cabernet Franc are combined, the result is a well-balanced wine with various flavours and aromas. The blend often exhibits a Bordeaux wine's medium to full body, along with a smooth texture and moderate tannins. The specific flavour profile can vary depending on the proportions of each grape in the blend and the terroir and winemaking techniques employed.

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