- CRITICAL REVIEWS
- WINEMAKER NOTES
JD
98
Jeb Dunnuck
(Rating 96 - 98)+. I was able to taste the 2022 Château Cheval Blanc in its individual components as well as a final blend, which is incredibly insightful when trying to understand a young barrel sample. The final blend is 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon (which is similar to the 2010), and as always, it's resting in new barrels. A deep, concentrated, structured Cheval Blanc, it has beautiful cassis, violets, flowers, and chocolate-driven aromatics. These carry to a full-bodied, concentrated, structured 2022 that stays tight, focused, and firm on the palate, with very little in the way of baby fat, yet the tannins are fine and polished. With a stacked mid-palate and a great finish, this masculine, structured, dense, powerful 2022 is going to need a decade or more of bottle age, but it should be brilliant. Reviewed by Jeb Dunnuck, Tasting date: May 2023. Drinking window: N/A.
RP
99
Robert Parker Wine Advocate
(Rating 97 - 99)+. One of the stars of the vintage is the striking 2022 Cheval Blanc, a blend of 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon that bursts from the glass with aromas of mulberries, cherries and wild berries mingled with mint, orange zest, pencil lead, vine smoke and exotic spices. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and layered, it's rich and gourmand, with beautifully refined tannins, lively acids and a long, saline, pungently perfumed finish. Harvest began on 29 August, with all the Merlot picked before the month was out, and the result is a wine that is as vibrant as it is lavish. Reviewed by William Kelley, Issue date: April 2023. Drinking window: N/A.
V
100
Vinous
(Rating 98 - 100). The 2022 Cheval Blanc is shaping up to be one of the wines of the vintage. Deep, seamless and striking in its beauty, the 2022 possesses pedigree to burn. Readers will find a sumptuous wine, but there's plenty of tannin lurking beneath all of that intensity. In fact, the 2022 is the most tannic Cheval since 2010. The aromatics are surprisingly vibrant for a wine from a warm, dry year. The wine's energy is palpable. The 100% new oak is not all perceptible, which is another sign of top-notch balance. Time in the glass brings out a whole range of exotic Franc notes, followed by blood orange, red fruit, mind and dried herb touches. The 2022 includes 17% press wine (compared to the 11% or so that is typical), but as I have noted in my comments elsewhere in this report, the press lots were of high quality in 2022 because the winemaking was gentle. Once again, Cheval Blanc represents a pinnacle of excellence. Readers should note there is no Petit Cheval in 2022. Reviewed by Antonio Galloni, Tasting date: April 2023. Drinking window: 2032 - 2062.
2022 Chateau Cheval Blanc, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, France
Alcohol ABV
13.9%
Sweetness
Dry
Blend
46% Cabernet Franc, 53% Merlot & 1% Cabernet Sauvignon
Maturation
Oaked
Oak Type
French
Winemaker
Pierre-Olivier Clouet
Management
Pierre Lurton
Ownership
Albert Frère and Bernard Arnault
Closure Type
Cork