Wine Chateau Cheval Blanc, St-Emilion AOC 1-er Grand Cru Classe, 1997
Tasting Notes
Wine rich ruby-red color.
The wine has a lush and sweet taste, with a moderate density and harmonious acidity.
The wine has a scent with notes of plum, currant, mocha and spice.
The wine goes well with meat and game, as well as cheeses.
Interesting Facts
Château Cheval Blanc is one of the best wines of Bordeaux and has a unique style. This is one of two wines, along with Château Ozone, awarded the title of Premier Cru Class A classification of wines of Saint Emilion 1855. Château Cheval Blanc - wine with the divine constitution. All its components - fruit notes, rich taste, silky texture, velvety tannins, endless aftertaste and blinding flavors - are arranged in an incredible harmony. Among the great wines, it is - one of the few where there is a high content of Cabernet Franc. This variety reaches its zenith in the gravel-sand-clay soil Cheval Blanc, which backs the formation of iron-rich rocks, through which it turns out is extremely mature, intense and viscous wine.
The grapes for the Château Cheval Blanc are harvested by hand, exposing his double selection. This is followed by alcoholic fermentation, which is carried out in stainless steel vats and concrete, wherein the grapes from different portions are fermented separately. Further there is a pressing using a hydraulic press. After malolactic fermentation the wine is kept in new oak barrels for 18 months. Clarified wine in barrels using egg whites.
Château Cheval Blanc is regarded as one of the "regular" wines, because it does not lose the taste of any youth or during prolonged storage.
The history of the manor begins with 1832, when representatives of the family Ducasse and Luce Fork got possession of the territory of the Chateau Fizha. Later, in 1838, was acquired additional land with vineyards at the same the owner, Countess Felicity. Building an attractive two-story mansion on these lands was completed in 1860. Now bears the name of the estate Château Cheval Blanc - "The Castle White Horse." In 1862 and 1867 in London and Paris World Fair first wine estates to win medals, which still adorn the label of Château Cheval Blanc. In 1998, the estate was sold to Bernard Arnault and businessmen Albert Frere.
In modern history, Château Cheval Blanc was one particularly controversial episode last estate manager Jacques Hebrar was very angry estimate Château Cheval Blanc 1981, which gave the wine known critic Robert Parker, so he invited Parker to try again this vintage directly on the estate. When the critic arrived at the farm, rather than to greet the guest, Jacques Hebrar pulled him his dog. When Parker asked him to make the dressing, the owner of the estate gave Parker an offensive content. Despite this "hospitality", Robert Parker still has revised its estimate of Château Cheval Blanc 1981 and gave him a very high scores. Such passion sometimes rage in the world of wine!
Vineyard Château Cheval Blanc is located in three wine-producing regions - one of his part in Pomerol, Graves in the other, and the third in St. Emilion. The total area of 41 hectares of vineyards, 37 of which are planted with different varieties of grapes with an unusual ratio: 57% - Cabernet Franc, 40% - Merlot, and the remaining small plots planted with varieties of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. The average age of the vines is 30-40 years. Winegrowers estates fundamentally do not use herbicides.
Chateau Cheval produces two red wines from its own vineyards: Chateau Cheval Blanc (the first wine farm) and Le Petit Cheval (second wine farms). In the year produces more than 6000 boxes of wine and 2,500 first - second.
