Bettane et Desseauve

La Revue du Vin de France

Adrian van Velsen - vvWine.ch

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

Cheval Blanc is an expensive wine. But if you have the disposable income, this is the vintage to buy. Opulent, vibrant, and sensuous, this silky display of concentrated plums and cherries gets better and better with every swirl, sniff, and sip. It is impossible to put your glass down without taking another sip. Give it a bit more time and it should hit triple digits! Drink from 2022-2050.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 1998 Cheval Blanc, a blend of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc, is deep garnet-brick in color and absolutely explodes with scents of exotic spices, incense, dried roses, cigar box and licorice, with a core of crème de cassis and dried cherries plus touches of black tea and dusty earth. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the mouth with rich, plushly textured fruit and then POW—it hits the mid-palate with an explosion of Chinese five spice and floral perfume sparks, leading to an epically long finish. This cannot fail to impress and can easily cellar for another 30 years or more.

Jeb Dunnuck

Another perfect wine is the 1998 Chateau Cheval Blanc, which is the usual blend of 55/45 Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Possessing an utterly captivating bouquet of sweet red and black fruits, forest floor, spice and dried flowers, it packs plenty of muscle and depth on the palate, yet is also expansive, elegant and seamless, with no hard edges. Just singing, with everything you could want; complexity, richness, elegance, depth, and length, drink this sensational beauty any time over the coming two decades. I’m sure it will keep longer, but why in the world would you wait.

James Suckling

Aromas of rose petal and hints of fresh herbs such currant leaf. Tobacco, too. Medium body, very fine tannins and a balanced fruit. Extremely refined and polished. A beautiful harmony. So lovely now.