Chateau Cheval Blanc 2011 Trophy St. Emilion Bordeaux Wine Review

Chateau Cheval Blanc (or "white horse") was established in 1832 when the Ducasse family purchased part of Chateau Figeac, which at that time was 200 hectares.

It was originally named Le Barrail de Cailloux, which is loosely translated is "barrel of tiny stones" because it has unique gravel soils. In 1852, when Mille Ducasse married Jean Laussac-Fourcaud, she came with a dowry including 2 of the 5 gravel mounds running through the vineyards of Cheval Blanc and Figeac. Around this time the changed their name to Cheval Blanc.

The Laussac-Fourcaud continued adding to their holdings increasing the size of Cheval Blanc. By 1871, they accumulated a total of 41 hectares of vineyards, which is the current size of the winery today (39 hectares planted with vines).

Chateau Cheval Blanc began winning medals and to this day, pictures of their medals appear on the label.

In 1998 Chateau Cheval Blanc was purchased by Bernard Arnault and Baron Albert Frere. Pierre Lurton (who also manages Chateau d’Yquem, Chateau La Tour du Pin and Quinault l’Enclos) began to manage the property for them. In 2009, LVMH purchased the shares owned by Bernard Arnault.

Cheval Blanc is located on the Pomerol border in the northwest portion of Saint Emilion. As such, it has all the best attributes of St. Emilion and Pomerol. Cheval Blanc has a complex terroir that consists of 3 different soils:40% of their soils are gravel over multiple types of clay, including blue clay, another 40% of their terroir has deep gravel soils, while the remaining 20% of their soils consist of sandy clay in the soil. There are 10 distinctive soil types in Cheval Blanc's terroir.
Generally speaking, Cheval Blanc has a slightly warmer, precocious, microclimate. This helps to produce the beauty in their Cabernet Franc. The vineyard is planted to 52% Cabernet Franc and 43% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon today, but the goal is to return to the original mix of 55% Cabernet Franc, 40% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.

In 2011, did full scale renovation of winery, barrel cellars and vinification room. They have 50-70 temperature-controlled, cement vats, varying in size that allow each parcel to be vinified separately. The wines are aged in 100% new, French oak barrels for close to 18 months before bottling.

They were elevated in Premier Cru Class A status in 2006 but in 2021, Chateau Cheval Blanc announced they would no longer participate in the St. Emilion classification system so starting with the 2022 vintage, the labels will no longer state Premier Cru Classe A.

For more infomation about the winery, please visit their website at https://www.chateau-cheval-blanc.com/...