Chateau Cheval Blanc 2000

Coming out of a relatively dormant state, this 2000 is a spectacular Cheval Blanc. Of recent vintages, I think only the 2009 can give it a run for its money. A blend of 53% Merlot and 47% Cabernet Franc, the wine has a sweet nose of menthol, melted licorice, boysenberry, blueberry, and cassis. A broad wine with compelling purity, a layered texture, and sweet tannin, with hints of coffee and earth in the background, this is by far the best Cheval Blanc since 1990 and before 2009. It is a legend in the making and can actually be drunk now, as the tannins have nearly melted away. This is a beauty with incredibly complex aromatics. Drink it over the next 25-30 years.

Among the young Chevals of the last 25 years, this is the most Port-like I have ever tasted. It represents the essence of this noble vineyard. A blend of 53% Merlot and 47% Cabernet Franc, it boasts a saturated purple color along with a reticent but striking bouguet of blackberries, truffles, and mocha. Beginning to close down, aeration reveals scents of locorice, menthol, and saddle leather. Opulent and full-bodied, with a diaphanous quality (each layer peels away to reveal even more nuances), low acidity, sweet tannin, and a 60-second finish, it is unquestionably as profound as the 1990 and 1982. It is the most compelling Cheval Blanc since the mythical 1947 and 1949, but patience is required. Potentially, this is a perfect wine. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2030+. Last tasted, 1/03.

This closed, backward blend of 53% Merlot and 47% Cabernet Franc boasts a saturated purple color along with a reticent but striking bouquet of blackberries, blueberries, truffles, and mocha. In spite of its tightness, aeration reveals scents of licorice, menthol, and saddle leather. Opulent and full-bodied, with low acidity, sweet tannin, and a 60-second finish, it is unquestionably as profound as the 1990 and 1982. I still believe the 2000 has the potential to be the most compelling Cheval Blanc since the mythical 1947 and 1949, but patience is required. It should merit a three digit score in 7-10 years, but it is closed at present. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2030+.

Last year, the 2000 Cheval Blanc appeared to be the wine of the vintage. It has not changed, but about a half dozen other offerings have added considerable weight and are now worthy rivals to this prodigious effort. The most port-like Cheval Blanc I have ever tasted, it represents the essence of this noble vineyard. A blend of equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Franc, it boasts a saturated purple color along with a striking bouquet of blackberries, blueberries, truffles, and mocha. As the wine sits in the glass, scents of licorice, menthol, and saddle leather also emerge. Opulent and full-bodied, with a diaphanous quality (each layer peels away to reveal even more nuances), low acidity, sweet tannin, and a 60-second finish, it is unquestionably a profound wine. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2030+.

Readers can put money on this one ... it's a no-brainer, Cheval Blanc 2000 is the wine of the vintage! Approximately 50% of the harvest made the grade for manager Pierre Lurton. This wine offers an explosion of berry fruits, a texture akin to cashmere, and layers of melted tannin infused with awesome levels of extract and fruit. Seamless and extraordinarily pure, the 2000 Cheval Blanc has everything one would ever want in a wine. It is not enormous, but it has a level of intensity and concentration without any sense of heaviness that sets it apart from most wines. Moreover, the tannins are melted and totally unobtrusive in a wine that, analytically, is high in tannin.The glorious nose of blueberries, blackberries, coconut, new saddle leather, and flowers is to die for. The texture is so plush that the palate gets lost in a dizzying smorgasbord of flavors and aromas. This is the greatest young Cheval Blanc I have ever tasted. If there is one wine worth killing for in 2000, it is Cheval Blanc. As a postscript, this wine is a blend of 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Merlot.

An ex-château bottle, this is the best bottle of Cheval Blanc 2000 that I have encountered in several years, though we had to reject one corked example first! Coming directly from the château, it has a backward, sultry bouquet that demands coaxing form the glass, but it eventually reveals wonderful delineation and brooding power with scents of dark plum, fireside hearth and anis. The palate has a sublime entry, almost understated until a wave of intense dark cherry and iodine crashes onto the back palate. Velvet smooth in the mouth, this is clearly a vin de garde that has a very long future ahead. Tasted February 2014.

The Cheval Blanc 2000 continues to age at a glacial pace, although the aromatics are open with lovely blackberry and graphite scents, here augmented with a hint of undergrowth and autumn leaves. The palate is full-bodied with precise, poised tannins that give this wine wonderful focus and drive. It is very fresh with a core of opaque dense black fruit at its heart. There is a sense of compactness to this Saint Emilion that urges you to cellar it for another decade…it promises to repay your patience. Tasted December 2012.

A wine of exquisite aromatic depth and grace, the 2000 Cheval Blanc is fully captivating. All the elements fall into place in an effortless, gracious wine. It’s frankly hard to move past the 2000 Cheval, because at this point, I want nothing to compete with it.