2009 Château Cheval Blanc, St Emilion, Bordeaux

2009 Château Cheval Blanc, St Emilion, Bordeaux

Product: 20098003285
Prices start from £1,400.00 per case Buying options
2009 Château Cheval Blanc, St Emilion, Bordeaux

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Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
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1 x 150cl magnum
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Description

With a massive concentration of bramble fruit and a high level of firm, ripe tannins adding structure, Cheval Blanc was one of the most masculine wines we tasted on the Right Bank during the 2009 en primeur tastings. Dense and earthy with a dark olive, almost sweet ‘n’ sour twist, this was a big, complex wine with many layers of flavour rippling across the palate towards the toasty finish. Very impressive indeed, this was one of the best Merlot-dominant (60%) wines we tasted in 2009.

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Critics reviews

Jane Anson100/100

Hold +2 years or carafe for 4 hours.

It is so good; it has been the benchmark Cheval Blanc for the past 15 years and continues to deliver exceptional quality. Lean into the poised, confident ruby red fruits, pomegranate, loganberry, and 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.

Drink 2024 - 2050

Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com (September 2024)

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Neal Martin, Vinous98/100

The 2009 Cheval Blanc has a rambunctious nose with copious red fruit, meat juices, sage, and crushed stone aromas, and it is 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 and hints of cassis, cardamom, and allspice. Immense depth and grip towards the finish express ripe Cabernet Franc. This is an outstanding 2009 destined for long-term ageing.

Drink 2021 - 2060

Neal Martin, Vinous.com (March 2019)

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Ian D'Agata, Vinous97+/100

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, it is very rich and creamy in the mouth, with luscious, extremely concentrated blackcurrant flavours, blueberry, raspberry liqueur, and cedar. Finishes pure and extremely long, with velvety tannins, 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.

It’s 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.

Ian D’Agata, Vinous.com (May 2010)

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Wine Advocate100/100

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.

Drink 2020 - 2057

Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (March 2019)

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Jancis Robinson MW18.5/20

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. 

Drink 2017 - 2040

Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (February 2024)

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James Suckling99/100

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

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (October 2019)

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Robert Parker99/100

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 colour 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.

Drink 2018 - 2050

Robert M. Parker, Jr., Wine Advocate (December 2011)

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Jeb Dunnuck100/100

The 2009 Château Cheval Blanc continues to just blow me away every time I’m lucky enough to taste a bottle. It has that rare mix of elegance and power that can be hard to describe. Offering a massive bouquet of black cherry liqueur, flowery incense, crème de cassis, toasted spices, and forest floor, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a magical, seamless texture, and a great, great finish. Its tannins and structure are just now starting to emerge from under ample baby fat, but it still has incredible opulence, richness, and flawless balance. Enjoy this masterpiece any time over the coming 20-30 years.

Drink 2020 - 2050

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (November 2020)

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Stephen Tanzer97/100

Bright red-ruby. Flamboyant yet classy aromas and raspberry, mocha, coffee and herbs flavours. It is 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. It is 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 favourites.

Stephen Tanzer, Vinous.com (July 2012)

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About this WINE

Château Cheval Blanc

Château 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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Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc is widely planted in Bordeaux and is the most important black grape grown in the Loire. In the Médoc, it may constitute up to 15% of a typical vineyard – it is always blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and is used to add bouquet and complexity to the wines. It is more widely used in St Émilion, where it adapts well to the cooler and moister clay soils.

Cabernet Franc thrives in the Loire, where the cooler growing conditions serve to accentuate the grape’s herbaceous, grassy, lead pencil aromas. The best wines come from the tuffeaux limestone slopes of Chinon and Bourgueil.

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When is a wine ready to drink?

We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.

Not ready

These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.

Ready - youthful

These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.

Ready - at best

These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.

Ready - mature

These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.