Chateau Cheval Blanc, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2015

This has depths that steal up on you, clinging on through the palate, dark fruit expression, cassis bud, blackcurrant puree, raspberry leaf and mandarin peel freshness, nuanced and gorgeous and hard to argue with. All the plots but two made it into the main wine in this vintage. 100% new oak, Pierre Lurton director. As an aside, it's wonderful tasting Cheval and Ausone in 2015, as both deliver such a clear imprint of their different locations in St Emilion, and both are exceptional wines.

All the plots but two made it into Cheval Blanc 2015. Those two were sold in bulk and no Petit Cheval was made in that year. With 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet colored 2015 Cheval Blanc prances out with a gorgeous perfume of roses, spearmint, and black tea, before giving way to a core of chocolate-covered cherries, redcurrant preserves, and juicy plums, plus a waft of iron ore. Full-bodied, the palate is dense and muscular, featuring a fine frame of grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing with loads of floral and mineral fireworks. Stunning!

Phenomenal aromas of cherries, flowers, blackberries and sandalwood. Pure fruit. Full-bodied, dense and polished with incredible tannin quality like the finest, densest silk ball. In perfect proportions. Compact. Seamless and endless. Gorgeous to taste now but give it six or seven years to understand it better.

Totally seamless in the glass, with no beginning and no end, the 2015 Cheval Blanc is simply extraordinary. It's hard to describe the 2015, because all of its elements are so perfectly in place. Beautifully delineated aromatics make a strong opening statement. Vibrant and wonderfully nuanced on the palate, the wine exudes energy and vitality through to the persistent, silky finish. Many other 2015s speak with more assertiveness and volume, but Cheval Blanc is more understsated. In 2015, Cheval Blanc created quite a stir in announcing that a whopping 91% of their crop would be bottled as Grand Vin. There will be no Petit Cheval, while the rest of the wine was sold internally.

One of the wines of this stellar vintage is undeniably the 2015 Cheval Blanc from Pierre Lurton, and it’s going to be interesting to compare this beauty up against the 2005, 2009 and 2010 over the coming three to four decades. Made from a mix of 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Franc brought up in new barrels, it’s a wine compared to the 1998 by Lurton, which is a perfect wine today. The 2015s deep purple color is followed by a sensational perfume of violets, spring flowers, Asian spices, and graphite and the wine has an incredible core of raspberry and currant fruit. With full-bodied richness, thrilling purity of fruit, ultra-fine tannin, and a beautiful finish, hide bottle for 5-6 years, count yourself lucky, and enjoy over the following three decades or more. It’s also worth noting that this is the first vintage since 1988 where this estate has opted to not produce their second wine, the Petit Cheval.

My Right Bank wine of the vintage and close to perfection. 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Franc, representing 90.5% of this year’s production (no Petit Cheval this year). Exudes elegance, class and precision. Dense, fresh, perfumed nose and the most velvety of textures. Remarkable quality of tannin allows a gentle attack then prodigious length and persistence. Nothing out of place.

The 2015 Cheval Blanc has an intense bouquet of red and black fruit but lacks the precision and detail of some of its peers at present. It gradually unfurls to reveal light graphite/pencil box aromas, along with a touch of sous-bois indicative of a healthy percentage of Cabernet Franc. The fresh, vibrant palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp acidity and a slightly closed, reticent finish, suggesting that it is saving more for later. Classic in style, more so than its peers, but worth cellaring for certain. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.