2023 Cheval Blanc (St-Emilion)

The 2023 Cheval Blanc, which was bottled on June 8, the highest production due to the yield (39 hl/ha), a high percentage of vines in production and the selection of Petit Cheval. As usual, technical director Pierre-Olivier Clouet reminded me that there is no vin de presse. It has a delectable bouquet with exquisite delineation: blackberry, raspberry, crushed stone and very light pencil-box scents. Typical Cheval Blanc. The palate is medium-bodied with svelte tannins, wonderful balance and purity, silky smooth yet there is tangible grip and backbone. Just a judicious dab of cracked black pepper on the finish. One of the best Right Bank wines of the vintage. Effortless. 97 points

Contrasts intensity and depth with nuance and softly spoken character. Lift and tension, precisely placed cocoa bean, liqourice root, tomato leaf, tannins, violet and peony florals and slate, sinewy, slow-tug tannins, powerful with lift off. Has plenty to say and demands that you slow down to hear it. 40hl/h yield, 75% of overall production (no press wine as ever), harvest September 6 to October 3. Pierre-Olivier Clouet director. 98 points

The 2023 Cheval Blanc is silky, elegant and exceptionally polished. Cabernet Franc is rarely as expressive as it is here. Everything in the 2023 is about detail. All the elements are so well balanced - so integrated. Red/purplish berry fruit, mint, cinnamon, rose petal and blood orange meld together, while seamless tannins wrap it all up in grand style. What a wine. 95-98 points

One of the most profound wines of the vintage is the 2023 Cheval Blanc, a striking wine that stands out for its strong sense of identity and seamless integration at such an early stage in its life. Wafting from the glass with notes of mulberries, lilac, dark fruits, iris root and violets, it`s medium to full-bodied, supple and seamless, with a gourmand core of cool, vibrant fruit that entirely conceals its sweet structuring tannins, concluding with a long, perfumed finish. It`s a blend of 52% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, drawing on fully 46 of the blocks that make up Cheval Blanc, and it attained 13.8% alcohol. 98-100 points