Description
Gabriel:
| Drinking maturity | Drink |
|---|---|
| Valuation | 20/20 |
| Matt, dense purple colour, fine rim on the outside. Sweet, intense bouquet, cardamom, Irish moss, cinnamon nuances, peppernuts and gingerbread, shows increasing opulence on the nose, an intoxicating orgy of herbs. Creamy, dense and concentrated on the palate, thus very long, still showing good reserves. Definitely one of the greatest wines of the vintage. Buy it! (20/20). 13: In Zell am See: Medium garnet colour with ripe orange tones. Ricola drops, malt, earl grey, wild rosemary, white pepper, Irish moss, still quite reductive, so still very young. Velvety on the inside, soft and with an enormous amount of velour-like charm, sweet and spicy on the finish, showing a great, long-lasting Cabernet Franc touch to perfection. A really great Cheval Blanc and anyone who is lucky enough to ever drink it should get the carafe out of the cupboard well in advance. For a mere 500 francs today, this is a Premier Grand Cru gem. (20/20). 13: Magnum. Rich, dark purple-garnet colour, still quite youthful. Immediately comes this bombastic, big Cheval bouquet, the full Cabernet Franc spice cinema; dates, cardamom, cumin, currants, Brazil tobacco, very profound and permanently growing. The palate is packed with massive concentration, resulting in a rich, fleshy extract with huge reserves for decades to come. Will it be the successor to the 1947? I think so. Probably with a more pronounced basic Cheval typicity. The guarantee of enjoyment is another 50 years. (20/20). 15: Very dark with an orange-red rim. Exuberant, sweet, raisiny bouquet, cumin, cocoa, dark malt, camphor notes, herbal liqueur, cedar, truffles, it is very mineral and shows an incredible number of layers - with a lot of pressure. Fleshy, compact and also concentrated on the palate, still showing a lot of astringency through its massive tannins and thus documenting the further, long potential. A massive Cheval package. It is only at the beginning of a long maturity and I would not be surprised if it would still offer great pleasure in 50 years' time. Unfortunately, I won't be around then. So I always decant it for a very long time to suggest this prophylactically. (20/20). 17: Brighter, but still a shade darker and younger than the Cheval 1982 that was in the glass before. Intense, dense, shows an incredible amount of spice and nuances of a great La Tâche, i.e. cardamom, cumin, dried dates, dark leather, Brazil tobacco. The palate is dense, fleshy and full-bodied at the same time, still documenting a certain astringency through its residual tannins. A huge, still young Cheval. Decant for a very long time or wait a few or even many years. A former insider tip, which is unquestionably confirmed today. | |
