Cheval Blanc - Saint-Emilion 2011

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

95

par Jane Anson le 13/06/2023

Now comfortably into its second decade, and starting to open up to show a beautifully nuanced and finessed structure. This is the first time I have checked in to this wine for two years, and it remains very much floral-dominated, with violet and iris aromatics, reflective of the high percentage of Cabernet Franc, showcasing precisely-crafted blue and red fruits. Balances light touch acidities and slow build concentration, with decades ahead of it. 50% new oak.

Wine Advocate

97

par William Kelley le 11/08/2022

An underrated vintage, the 2011 Château Cheval Blanc is evolving brilliantly. Wafting from the glass with aromas of smoky cassis, blackberries, loamy soil, tobacco leaf, bitter chocolate, mint and violets, it's full-bodied, velvety and multidimensional, with a layered core of fruit, rich and powdery structuring tannin and a long, resonant finish. While the 2009 and 2010 are more powerful and unctuous, readers who prize Cheval Blanc for its extraordinary complexity and unique perfume might well prefer the 2011, as it is a wine that could come from nowhere else.

Jamessuckling.com

92

par James Suckling le 31/05/2022

Deep and rich with a lovely balance of ripe black berries, bitter chocolate and smoke. A ripe and generous style, the fine tannins already nicely softened. Long, supple and gentle finish that’s very appealing, but slightly simple. Drink or hold. Château Quintus vertical tasting. SP.

Vinous

94

par Neal Martin le 06/09/2021

The 2011 Cheval Blanc has an elegant, quite refined bouquet with brambly red fruit, scorched earth, terracotta and sage, very complex and harmonious. Could this be Figeac? [Post-script. No, but not far off!] The palate is medium-bodied with rounded tannins, quite plush and sensual, rich for this vintage with plenty of concentrated, quite sweet and spicy, hoisin-tinged fruit on the precise finish. This is a very fine Saint-Émilion. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting.

Decanter.com

94

par Sarah Jane Evans MW le 25/11/2019

The first vintage in the new cellar. Elegantly dark fruited aromas with cacao and cedar. Youthful impression on the palate, with raspberries and redcurrant crispness. The palate builds to a dense core with firm tannins and a refined underlying freshness. A warm, generous finish, round, ripe and black. The driest vintage in 15 years but with an even balance of cool weather and ripening, with a two heat spikes. The late harvest gives the mature tannins. Cheval Blanc was 64% of the production, Le Petit Cheval 23% and the 3ème vin 13%.

Jeb DUNNUCK

96

par Jeb Dunnuck le 14/06/2019

A vintage that’s being drunk with abandon in France these days, the 2011 Chateau Cheval Blanc showed beautifully, and the firm tannins that define this vintage are nowhere to be found here. Sweet black fruits, spice, incense, and exotic flowers define the bouquet and it has classic Cheval Blanc complexity. Medium to full-bodied, beautifully balanced, with sweet tannins and a great finish, it’s a beautiful Saint-Emilion to drink over the coming 2-3 decades.

Wine Advocate

94

par Lisa Perrotti-Brown le 31/08/2018

Medium to deep garnet in color, the 2011 Cheval Blanc features a nose of warm mulberries, preserved plums and figs with suggestions of dried herbs, dusty soil and underbrush plus a touch of Sichuan pepper. Medium to full-bodied, taut and muscular in the mouth, it has a solid frame of chewy tannins supporting the restrained fruit and a long earth and Provence herbs-layered finish. Drink 2018 - 2033.

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

92

par Ian D'Agata le 31/08/2014

Bright red-ruby.  Ripe, scented aromas of raspberry, strawberry, violet, licorice, cedar and wild herbs on the knockout nose.  Wonderfully sappy and juicy but not thick, with intense, very pure red berry, white pepper, floral and cedar flavors showing terrific thrust and lift.  Finishes dense and long, with repeating floral, white pepper and red berry nuances.  Boasts a serious spine for cellaring, and the youthfully chewy tannins will need time.  An essence of cabernet franc:  when Cheval Blanc aces this variety, it's one of the most unique--and greatest--wines in the world.  There just aren't too many wines anywhere (Lafleur excepted, perhaps) that can express the variety like Cheval does.  Apparently the cabernet franc percentage was increased to 57%, up from the 52% I had been told was in the blend at the Primeurs.            

Wine Advocate

95

par Robert Parker le 02/05/2014

The 2011 Cheval Blanc is one of the more plump, opulent and sexy Cheval Blancs made over recent vintages, and its forwardness, lusciousness and complexity seemingly suggest this wine is on a fast evolutionary track. The wine exhibits a dense ruby/purple/plum color, a medium to full-bodied opulence, a sumptuous mid-palate (atypical for the vintage), and a lush, heady finish. It is a super, complex, evolved Cheval Blanc that can be drunk now or cellared for 15+ years. Bravo!

Jamessuckling.com

94

par James Suckling le 19/02/2014

A beautiful nose of ripe black fruits such blackberries, as well as cocoa, black truffle and mint. Full body with a solid core of very refined tannins that lasts for minutes. Very refined texture, especially for the vintage. 57% cabernet franc and 43% merlot. Try after seven to eight years.

Wine Spectator

94

par James Molesworth le 11/02/2014

Offers a loamy, dense feel, with the vintage's briary grip tumbled with dark plum, blackberry and black currant fruit. Anise and tobacco notes fill out the finish, which expands steadily with air, showing added range and echoes of bittersweet cocoa and tobacco. Seems to have a lot in reserve. Best from 2016 through 2030.

Le Point

17,5-18

par Jacques Dupont le 17/05/2012

Fruits noirs, on oublie que l'on est dans une année de stress et de déficit hydrique, floral, mûre, bouche dense, fraîche, tanins soyeux, pointe de menthol, élégant, frais, petits tanins vifs. O=2020 G=20 ans

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

92-94

par Ian D'Agata le 12/05/2012

(a blend of 52% cabernet franc and 49% merlot): Bright ruby. Highly perfumed, knockout nose of strawberry, white pepper and flowers. Bright and fresh in the mouth yet delineated and firmly structured, with a seamless quality to its red berry, floral and mineral flavors. This oozes class and grace, finishing long and suave, with very smooth tannins. Though this 2011 is less structured and powerful than the 2010 version, when Cheval Blanc gets the cabernet franc as it did in 2011, it's simply one of the world's greatest wines. But chief viticulturalist and winemaker Kees Van Leeuwen told me that 2011 wasn't a walk in the park: among the estate's many parcels, some had grilled berries and there was huge disparity in the ripening curve between parcels (some were extremely early and others late), leading to a harvest that lasted 23 days, the longest here in memory (normally it lasts 14 to 18 days).

Wine Advocate

94-96

par Robert Parker le 30/04/2012

Somewhat reminiscent of their brilliant 1998, the 2011 Cheval Blanc has turned out to be a top-notch success. Its deep garnet/plum/purple color is followed by hints of blueberry confiture intermixed with raspberries, mocha, damp forest and a hint of mint. Exhibiting a velvety, opulent texture along with considerable class and flesh as well as sweet tannin, this flavorful, forward 2011 should drink beautifully for two decades or more. The harvest at this estate lasted from September 6 through October 1 (for the Cabernet Franc).

TAST

18-19

par Bettane & Desseauve le 30/04/2012

Avec 52% de cabernet franc, c'est un grand Cheval à la fraîcheur éblouissante, à l'allonge subtile, au caractère floral brillant. En bouche, le vin démontre une longueur suave et voluptueuse et une personnalité racée au possible.

WeinWisser

16

par René Gabriel le 30/04/2012

2022-2048

The Wine Cellar Insider

95-96

par Jeff Leve le 27/04/2012

From 52% Cabernet Franc and 48% Merlot, the wine will be aged in 100% new oak and reached 13% alcohol. The Grand Vin represents 65% of the harvest. This is a fresh, elegant style of Cheval Blanc that offers soft, ripe, pure, fresh black and white cherries, floral, spice, truffle, smoke and earthy aromas along with supple textures. While refined and polished, 2011 Cheval Blanc lacks the depth found in 2009 and 2010, but the beautiful sense of purity in the fruit is something to behold. 95-96 Pts

Wine Advocate

94-96

par Neal Martin le 27/04/2012

The Cheval Blanc is a blend of 52% Cabernet Franc and 48% Merlot picked from 6th September finishing on 2nd October. The bouquet is reticent at first and so I allow the sample to warm a little in the glass over five minutes. It unfurls nicely to offer a classic Cheval Blanc nose with the Cabernet Franc exhibiting those floral aromas, more dried rose petal than say violets. It is a slightly aloof nose, not one that comes running to you like the 2009 or 2010. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, slightly chalky tannins. It is well balanced with a fine tannic backbone, imbued with a sense of symmetry that Cheval Blanc has been honing in recent vintages. It displays fine minerality, remaining strict and linear towards the finish, although this may flesh out a little during maturation. A comparatively foursquare Cheval Blanc, one that will repay considerable ageing. Tasted April 2012

Jancis Robinson

19

par Julia Harding MW le 24/04/2012

Drink 2021-2041 55% Cabernet Franc, 45% Merlot, 100% new oak, benefiting from the extra precision allowed by the new, small concrete vats (described by Jancis here) in which the 44 separate parcels they have identified can be vinified separately, says winemaker Pierre-Olivier Clouet. Merlot picked al dente 6-14 September, then waited for the sunny days and cold nights to work their magic on the Cabernet Franc. Deep dark cherry crimson. Delicately floral and fruity, so subtle but gently aromatic. A touch of oak sweetness and spice but very restrained. Very very fine grained, you can feel the tannins but they melt across the palate. There's intensity but it's so TENDER. It's dark-fruited rather than savoury. There's minerality in both taste and texture. Fabulous way to start a day's tasting. (JH) 13.5%

Asian Palate

93-95

par Jeannie Cho Lee MW le 20/04/2012

This is a wine with grace and elegance. As expected, the tannins are refined and supple with a firmness that lifts the flavours of herbs and spices on the palate. There is great depth and finesse with a lingering finish that offers a whiff of violets. It is not a powerful Cheval Blanc but it will age well and reward those who will cellar it for at least a decade or more.

Wine Spectator

93-96

par James Molesworth le 10/04/2012

Very perfumy, with lovely red and black fruit that's pure and refined. There's a creamy feel, with hints of bergamot, cassis and toasted spice. Long and very suave through the finish. Well put together. Tasted non-blind.—J.M.

Wine Enthusiast

95-97

par Roger Voss le 06/04/2012

This has sweet and soft tannins, with a smoky flavor that lingers on the ripe, opulent finish. Its initial richness suggests it could almost be consumed now, until you taste the massively-structured finish. —R.V

Jamessuckling.com

93-94

par James Suckling le 01/04/2012

A really beautiful wine with super silky tannins with chocolate, spice, berries and spices. Full body, with super polished tannins and a long, long finish. The first wine from the new winery of Cheval. Very precise. Very polished. Cabernet Franc give the quality.