2005 Cheval Blanc, St-Émilion

“An absolute legend of a wine, the 2005 Château Cheval Blanc is up there with the greatest wines ever made. Based on 51% Merlot and 49% Cabernet Franc raised all in new oak, this stunning effort clocks in as 13.9% alcohol and a pH of 3.6. Deep ruby hued with no bricking and barely any lighting at the rim, it has that classic Cheval Blanc complexity with incredible cassis and darker currant like fruits as well as smoky, truffly earth, spice, and cedar pencil nuances. Full-bodied, incredibly concentrated, and yet flawlessly balanced and weightless, it still has substantial tannins yet they’re perfectly ripe and flawlessly integrated. It’s as good a wine as I’ve ever tasted. Drink bottles any time over the coming 20-30 years.” (04/2024)

“The 2005 from Cheval Blanc is a quintessentially elegant, beautiful, deep bluish/ruby-colored wine from St.-Emilion, with raspberry, blueberry, and floral notes, impressive density, great precision, freshness and purity. Full-bodied, but extremely light on its feet, I don’t mean to gush, but it is super-intense, rich and just so meticulously crafted! This is another fabulous wine and a perfect expression for this vintage. It is difficult to forget the gorgeous blueberry and raspberry fruit, full body, sweet tannin, a multi-layered texture, and purity and palate presence of this stunning wine. (RP)” (06/2015)

“A blend of 51% Merlot and 49% Cabernet Franc, the 2005 Cheval Blanc has a deep garnet color. The nose is still so incredibly youthful, soaring out of the glass with notes of juicy black plums, Morello cherries, mulberries, and fragrant soil, plus nuances of rose oil, spearmint, and pencil shavings. The medium to full-bodied palate is taut and energetic, delivering a firm backbone of exquisitely ripe, fine-grained tannins and great tension, finishing long and shimmery. (LPB)” (09/2023)

“The 2005 Cheval Blanc has been nothing less than magical on two separate occasions. A wine of breathtaking nuance and sophistication, the 2005 Cheval dazzles right out of the gate. With a few hours of aeration the aromatics blossom and the wine is explosive in every dimension. Espresso, rose petal, mint, blood orange and incense all open as the 2005 shows off its magnificence and pedigree. Bright saline underpinnings convey energy, tension and brilliance. Cheval Blanc is perhaps not as immediately seductive as some of the other top 2005s, but its all there. In spades. (AG)” (04/2021)

“The 2005 Château Cheval Blanc is a masterpiece and could ultimately go down as one of the greatest wines ever from the Estate. Composed of 51% Merlot and 49% Cabernet Franc, this opens to simply stunning aromas of ripe dark dark and blue fruits, along with fresh violets, crushed wet stones, pipe tobacco, graphite and hints of spices that all come together to form the seductive nuances. This full-bodied red is every bit as stunning on the palate, as it is beautifully structured, with incredible overall balance and finesse that makes it nearly impossible to resist. It goes on to thoroughly impress, showing a remarkable combination of power and elegance as it leads up to the long enveloping finish. The 2005 is certainly mesmerizing today, however it also possesses the potential to age marvelously and should offer a drinking window that spans across decades. (JD)” (07/2019)

“Almost equal proportions of Cabernet and Merlot, summing up how balanced the 2005 vintage was. Rosehip, rose petal, ripe raspberry fruits. Now beginning to open up, even inching towards tertiary with its wisps of florality and tobacco but still with so much power and concentration. This is right up there as one of the wines of the vintage, with huge complexity, touches of Asian spice, mint leaf, you really feel just how much is going on in the glass. Plenty of Cheval signature in its classicism and balance, with a moreish bitter almond and salted cracker signoff. I last had this three or four years ago and it was not ready, but it has flipped the switch now, and can be enjoyed with a good few hours in a carafe. Harvest September 12 to 27, 42hl/h yield. 100% new oak, 57% of overall production, no press wine. Vinified in the old cellar, and this is three years before the arrival of current technical director Pierre Olivier Clouet, with Thierry Garnrud cellar master, Pierre Lurton director. Unrolls in the glass, with decades ahead of it.” (06/2022)

“Always a fabulous nose of black fruit, dark chocolate, nuts and spices. It's full-bodied with beautifully dense tannins reminiscent of cashmere. A long, long finish rounds out this beautiful wine.” (10/2015)

“Subtle, complex, alluring aromatics. The palate is exceptionally smooth, ripe and intense with blackcurrant fruit, full and fleshy, lifted with freshness and with very fine tannin running through. Glorious! A very dry year, warm but without 2003’s heatwave, creating small berries, with a concentration of tannin, acid, colour delivering. (SE)” (11/2019)

“Plump, padded and comfortable is the initial impression. But this is also finely structured and dense, with tannins that are sweet, flavors of dark chocolate to go with the roundness and the enticing Cabernet Franc perfumes. In all, this is a great wine, with considerable aging potential, but with enough sweet fruit to make it attractive now. (RV)” (06/2008)

“This is starting to awaken, with mulled spice, warm cocoa, freshly plowed loam and steeped black currant fruit aromas and flavors emerging slowly but steadily. The long finish ripples with dark earth, licorice snap and smoldering tobacco notes, while the currant core keeps pace easily. A big, beautiful wine. (JM)” (02/2018)

“The aristocracy of St-Emilion coasts on nonchalant power, with the grandeur you would expect from this site on the edge of Pomerol's sacred plateau. Part voluptuous, part lean, this has a layering of flavor that could fill a writer's notebook with the earthy, meaty and spicy directions of its complexities. It's distinguished by an exact ripeness, so that the Bretty funk that might eat a lesser wine is merely a way into the cool limestone architecture, a tannic underground cellar that will sustain the fresh fruit. For the ages.” (10/2008)

“Subtle but open-knit earth and blood on the nose with very fine tannic weave on the palate but a surprising paucity of fruit; especially after tasting the 2009s. The structure seems more intact than the primary fruit character. And the finish is a little hot too. Not the most convincing example, and not as promising a prospect for ageing, bearing in mind the modest fruit character. (RH)” (05/2018)