Château Cheval Blanc 2021

Château Cheval Blanc 2021 shows a deep, intense, dark red colour. Ripe red fruit, wild berries, blackberry, and blackcurrant lead the nose, lifted by violet and spice with a discreet touch of oak. The blend is 52% Cabernet Franc, 43% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, giving the wine a distinctive Right Bank profile in which Cabernet Franc provides aromatic lift and concentrated structure while Merlot rounds the palate. The attack is savoury and powerful, yet the texture remains supple and round, carried by generous tannins rather than hardness. Freshness persists through the long finish, keeping the dark fruit and spice vivid. Parcel-by-parcel vinification, indigenous yeasts selected at the estate, gentle extraction, long maceration, and manual pumping over are used to retain the personality of the vineyard. Sixteen months in new barrels completes the élevage. The result is a wine of depth and authority whose most memorable quality is the way power, floral detail, rounded texture, and lingering freshness remain in equilibrium.

Serve at 16–18°C and decant well in advance while the wine is young. Its ripe berry fruit, violet lift, spice, and generous tannins suit roasted lamb, beef rib, venison, or duck with a savoury reduction. Cabernet Franc’s freshness makes herb-led preparations especially rewarding: rosemary, thyme, parsley, or a restrained green-peppercorn sauce can add complexity without masking the wine. Mushroom dishes, truffle, roasted beetroot, and lentils offer excellent meat-free pairings, while firm cheeses such as Comté or mature Gouda work well at the end of the meal. Avoid very sweet sauces and fierce chilli. Pour into large glasses and allow the bottle to evolve slowly; the wine’s wild fruit and floral character become more expressive as its structure relaxes with air.

Cheval Blanc’s vineyard is divided into 56 plots across clay, gravel, and sand, and each plot is vinified separately before blending. The estate’s guiding idea is to “put a place in a glass,” respecting both terroir and the specific conditions of each year. In 2021, heavy rain in May and June gave way to drier weather from mid-August through harvest. Slow, regular maturation brought excellent ripeness and particularly concentrated Cabernet. Picking ran from 22 September to 14 October. The technical team selected the parcels entirely through tasting, assembling a wine that expresses the vintage rather than repeating a fixed formula. That same year, the estate published its agroforestry manifesto, extending its attention from the vine to a broader living landscape of trees, hedges, animals, and cultivated biodiversity.

Store unopened in a cool, dark, temperature-stable cellar, with the bottle resting on its side. Keep away from heat, sunlight, vibration, and sudden temperature changes. Serve at approximately 16–18°C and decant before serving while young. Contains sulphites.