Château Cheval Blanc 2016
| Distrikt | Saint-Émilion |
| Druvor | Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot |
| Årgång | 2016 |
| Fyllighet | 9 |
| Fruktsyra | 9 |
| Strävhet | 9 |
| Procucenter | Château Cheval Blanc |
| Artikelnr | Cheval Blanc 907 |
| Lagerstatus | |
| Förpackningsmaterial | Trälåda OWC |
| Fraktkostnad | 169:- |
| Avnjutes mellan | 2023 - 2070 |
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Druvor
59.5% Merlot, 37.2% Cabernet Franc & 3.3% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Tasting note
The 2016 Château Cheval Blanc is blended of 59.5% Merlot, 37.2% Cabernet Franc and 3.3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, the nose is incredibly youthful yet not so shy as some other 2016s at this stage, giving wonderfully intense scents of red currants, black cherries, wild blueberries and violets with nuances of star anise, cinnamon stick, rose hip tea, cigar box and wood smoke plus a touch of beef drippings. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has jaw-dropping elegance and depth, offering up layer upon layer of fragrant red and black fruits plus an extraordinary array of mineral sparks, supported by a rock-solid grainy texture, finishing with epic persistence and an edifying perfume. This is a very different style from the rich, opulently hedonic 2015, yet this wonderfully fragrant, beautifully poised and intellectually compelling 2016 is equally extraordinary.
“We have a clay subsoil, which is great for managing the dry spells,” Cheval Blanc’s technical director, Pierre-Olivier Clouet, informed me regarding the 2016 vintage. And this is certainly true of a significant portion of this relatively large estate (for the Right Bank), which is mainly composed of gravel or sand over clay, while a smaller area is made up of deeper gravel. “If we want to find the right balance between freshness of fruit and the dry spells, we need some water,” Clouet smiled matter-of-factly. One of the most significant developments here in recent years is the degree of precision viticulture that is now practiced at Cheval Blanc. For example, the 39-hectare vineyard has been subdivided and is now farmed as 45 different plots, based on grape variety, age of vines and soil type. To accommodate these separately managed plots, the new cellar contains 52 vats available in nine different sizes (20 hectoliters to 110 hectoliters), designed to correspond to the harvest from each plot, which are vinified separately. This affords a whole other level of control when it comes to selection and, ultimately, ensuring consistency of quality. “From 2016 we have a little Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend as we did historically, but it disappeared when the plots were replanted,” Clouet went on to tell me. “We replanted 1.4 hectares in 2014 and will start using it in the blends, looking to achieve about 5% eventually.”
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2016
Vänstra stranden | Médoc & Péssac-Léognan
97 poäng
Ett år av extremer, med en väldigt regnig vår uppbackad av en väldigt torr sommar. Cabernet njöt av torkan och gav röda som är mogna och garvsyrade, men också fräscha, friska och fulla av aromer; ger normal till över normal. Övre Médoc superb, med St.-Estèphe, Pauillac och St.-Julien som epicentrum för kvalitet.
Högra stranden | Pomerol & Saint-Emilion
94 poäng
Samma mönster som Left Bank, med regnig start, torr avslutning. Lerbaserade jordar klarade torrperioden bäst, kalksten också stark; unga vinrankor och Pomerols sandiga jordar den enda svaga punkten, men i övrigt en mycket homogen årgång.
