Château Cheval-Blanc - St.-Emilion 1998 (750ml)
Price: $1499.00
| Producer | Château Cheval-Blanc |
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Subregion | St.-Emilion |
| Varietal | bordeaux blend |
| Vintage | 1998 |
| Size | 750ml |
Jeb Dunnuck: 100 Points
Another perfect wine is the 1998 Chateau Cheval Blanc, which is the usual blend of 55/45 Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Possessing an utterly captivating bouquet of sweet red and black fruits, forest floor, spice and dried flowers, it packs plenty of muscle and depth on the palate, yet is also expansive, elegant and seamless, with no hard edges. Just singing, with everything you could want; complexity, richness, elegance, depth, and length, drink this sensational beauty any time over the coming two decades. I’m sure it will keep longer, but why in the world would you wait.
Others: 100 Points
Jancis Robinson 19/20
Pierre Lurton prefers ‘98 to ‘00. He thinks 1998 is the single greatest Cheval Blanc of the second half of the 20th century. Much more intense and ripe than the 2001 on the nose. Slightly tarry and powdery. Smudgy and complex. Neat and sweet on the finish. Loganberries. Very flattering. Much denser and more youthful than the ‘01. Truly flamboyant.
Decanter: 100 Points
The reference chateau of the vintage, this wine is showing its class here and then some. It was the first year with Bernard Arnault and Albert Frère as owners, with Pierre Lurton coming onboard from his former role at Clos Fourtet. 10% press wine was used, whereas today they use no press wine in the grand vin. It was aged in 100% new oak. The 36ha of vines yielded 32hl/ha, closer to their average than the relatively abundant 1989). The holdings have since expanded to 39ha with the addition of 3ha from Tour du Pin Figeac. 67% of production went in to the grand vin, the rest into Petit Cheval. This is seductive and rich but with a purity and precision. There's more Merlot in the blend than is typical because the clay soils produced the best quality grapes, and you can see its impact in the textural density - the proximity to Pomerol comes through.
Wine Advocate: 100 Points
The 1998 Cheval Blanc, a blend of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc, is deep garnet-brick in color and absolutely explodes with scents of exotic spices, incense, dried roses, cigar box and licorice, with a core of crème de cassis and dried cherries plus touches of black tea and dusty earth. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the mouth with rich, plushly textured fruit and then POW—it hits the mid-palate with an explosion of Chinese five spice and floral perfume sparks, leading to an epically long finish. This cannot fail to impress and can easily cellar for another 30 years or more.
Wine Independent Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW: 100 Points
James Suckling: 100 Points
This structured and powerful red is finally coming out its sleep. It shows intense aromas of dried fruits, mushrooms, forest floor and berries. It's full-bodied, very dense and velvety, and has an outstanding, ripe and richly fruity finish. A wine that harkens back to the legendary 1947 Cheval-Blanc. Drink or hold.
The Wine Cellar Insider: 99 Points
A few more years of age and this could hit 100 Pts. It is a thrill-a-sip wine. The nose is packed with leafy mint, smoke, cherries, licorice, flowers, cocoa, tobacco, and truffles. The wine is intense. full-bodied, opulent, flamboyant and sensuous. This is Cheval Blanc at its sexiest best. The layers and leaves of fruit on the mid-palate and in the seamless finish should stop any winelover in their tracks. Drink from 2024-2060
Wine Spectator: 98 Points
Aromas of blueberry, sweet tobacco, leather and pipe tobacco turning to raisins and Christmas cake. What a wine. Full-bodied, with chewy tannins and a very well-integrated palate. Dark color. A big and powerful wine still. Blockbuster. Massive. Just a baby.—'88/'98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Best after 2013.
| Quantity: |
