Chateau Cheval Blanc - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2012

Wine Advocate

93 / 100

byNeal Martinthe10/28/2016

Tasted blind at the 2012 Southwold tasting, the 2012 Cheval Blanc has a perfumed, outgoing, almost "glossy" bouquet that wants to be noticed, lavished with damson, wild strawberry, fig jam and crème de cassis scents that are totally seductive. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe, succulent, sensual red cherries and wild strawberry fruit, though perhaps the finish showed some superfluous hubris that just erased some of the potential delineation and focus. On this occasion it was pipped to the post by Ausone, but let us see how it matures, because the white horse always repays those that are patient. Tasted January 2016.
Note 93+/100

Vinous

97 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe1/31/2016

The 2012 Cheval Blanc boasts stunning power and a vertical, imposing sense of structure that is quite rare in this vintage. Dark and almost brooding in style, the Cheval is a rare 2012 that absolutely demands cellaring. Smoke, tobacco, incense and dark spices open up with time, but the 2012 is a reticent, tannic wine that is only showing the barest hints of its ultimate potential. This is a magnificent showing and one of the clear highlights of the year.

Wine Advocate

94 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe4/30/2015

A beautiful wine that always seems to drink well, the 2012 Cheval Blanc has a sweet, fragrant nose of black and red currants, floral nuances and spice. Supple, round and juicy, this wine can be drunk now or cellared for another 15 or more years.

Jamessuckling.com

94 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe2/15/2015

A Cheval Blanc with an impressive center palate of blueberries, chocolate, almonds and spices. Full body, a solid core of fruit and a long, long finish. Goes on for minutes. Beautiful wine. Seamless tannins. Needs a few years of bottle age. Better in 2017.

Wine Spectator

95 / 100

byJames Molesworththe2/10/2015

This wine is gorgeous in all facets, offering a simultaneously loamy and creamy mouthfeel, seamless layers of red and black currant, cherry, raspberry and blackberry fruit, and a long, tobacco-fueled finish that features alluring hints of black tea and incense. The fruit and terroir shine in this broad, deep and defined style. Best from 2018 through 2030. 7,665 cases made. –JM

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

90-93 / 100

byIan D'Agatathe6/30/2013

(54% merlot and 46% cabernet franc):  Good full ruby-red.  Expressive, nuanced nose offers red cherry, strawberry, minerals and a hint of violet.  Sweet and round on entry, then increasingly austere toward the back, with peppery and minty elements lifting the dark cherry and cassis flavors.  I noticed some bottle variation with my samples on the day I visited this chateau, so I am describing the best of the four samples I tried.  My gut feeling is that there is plenty of stuffing and pretty cabernet franc refinement here but that the wine needs to smooth out and harmonize with further elevage.

timatkin.com

96 / 100

byTim Atkin MWthe6/30/2013

Cheval Blanc’s yields were unusually low in 2012 because of a difficult flowering that lasted a month and a green harvest in August. The proportion of Merlot was slightly lower than normal, but otherwise this is a typically impressive performance from Pierre Lurton and his team: focused, polished, yet quite closed, with plenty of tannin and minerality, good  density of fruit and the sense that the wine needs at least a decade to show at its best. Drink: 2015-40

Le Point

17,5 / 20

byJacques Dupontthe5/16/2013

Fruits noirs, cerise burlat, poivre noir, bouche ample, dense, épicée, fruitée. Joli fruit, droit, racé, mentholé, long, très fruité. O= 2017 G= 15 ans

Asian Palate

91 / 100

byJeannie Cho Lee MWthe5/15/2013

Subtle nose of violets and cedar - this year the flavours are closed on the palate which is often the case for young Cheval Blanc. There is good density and velvety tannins with a texture that is pure cashmere. The harvest was completed by 13th October, before the very heavy rains. This Cheval Blanc is classic, not as intense as in previous years but balanced and fresh with very good length. The blend is 54% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc.

Wine Advocate

95-97 / 100

byNeal Martinthe5/6/2013

The Grand Vin is a blend of 54% Merlot and 46% Cabernet Franc, 26th September until the 13th October that comes from 35 different parcels. The picking is done in the vineyard for the first sorting by the pickers and then sorted by hand as they are sure delicate than using optical sorting machine. It has a dense, broody nose that has the looming presence of the Quinault L’Enclos. It veers towards a red fruit profile, with “rocky” aromas, perhaps a touch of marmalade and quince. The palate is medium-bodied but displays very good concentration for the vintages. It feels very harmonious – silky but with a citric acid edge that lends the finish the tension it needs to maintain the freshness. This will probably become a masculine Cheval Blanc that will need a decade in bottle. Tasted April 2013.

Wine Spectator

94-97 / 100

byJames Molesworththe4/30/2013

Tightly wound, with a core of red currant, red licorice and bergamot. The long, earth-driven finish shows a tug of clay and warm stone, while a backdrop of bittersweet cocoa and dark tea waits in reserve. Reveals a sinewy side, balanced by muscle and flesh. Impressively rendered for the vintage. Tasted non-blind. —J.M.

matthewjukes.com

19 / 20

byMatthew Jukesthe4/30/2013

Dense, earthy, engaging and more tannic than expected there is a graphite edge to this brooding wine.

Jean-Marc QUARIN

17,25 / 20

byJean-Marc Quarinthe4/29/2013

Couleur sombre, intense et belle. Nez fin, fruité, floral, un peu discret. Belle entrée en bouche bien présente, puis le vin se développe très parfumé, suave et noble dans sa texture, avec beaucoup de goût et un charme fou. Très belle finale fondante et noble, d'une grande douceur tannique. C'est incrachable !

Assemblage : 54 % merlot, 46 % cabernet franc. Degré d'alcool : 13°95 - pH 3,78 - IPT 76 - Rendement vignes 32 hl/ha pour le merlot et 30 hl/ha pour le cabernet franc. Sélection : 71 % de grand vin.

My Bettane + Desseauve

17,5-18 / 20

the4/27/2013

Texture veloutée, le grain de merlot est fin, un vin élégant qui développe une fraîcheur fruitée subtile. Un Cheval-Blanc sage et précis, pas tout à fait aussi impressionnant que dans les millésimes précédents.

Jancis Robinson

18,5 / 20

byJulia Harding MWthe4/26/2013

Drink 2020-2035
54% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc. Deep dark crimson. Marked Cabernet nose. Smells pure and fresh and crunchy. Finest of fine tannins but they go deep, as does the fruit. It is not leafy but there that classic Cabernet Franc fresh aroma that tends that way. There's some grip but fine friction. Elegant, long; energy underneath a relatively gentle-seeming exterior. 'Power and sweetness of Merlot and finesse of Cabernet Franc. The true Cheval Blanc style we like', says Kees van Leeuwen. Very clean, complex aromatic profile. Delicious and I think you could drink it, with much pleasure, even earlier than I have suggested. (JH)

Wine Advocate

94-96 / 100

byRobert Parkerthe4/26/2013

The final blend for the 2012 Cheval Blanc was 54% Merlot and 46% Cabernet Franc. Despite the use of 100% new oak, there is not a hint of vanillin, toast or espresso notes in the aromatic bouquet, which is filled with scents of black currants, sweet cherries, lavender, forest floor and a hint of underbrush. Concentrated with a surprisingly lofty alcohol level of 13.9% as well as a tannin level that equals their 2010 (a wine bestowed a three-digit score), this full-bodied, opulent 2012 has a pH of 3.8, which accounts for its suppleness, velvety texture and heady richness. It is a great success in this vintage. It will be approachable early given its silky structural aspects, and should last for two decades.
Drink: 2013 - 2033

The Wine Cellar Insider

94-96 / 100

byJeff Levethe4/26/2013

With 54% Merlot and 46% Cabernet Franc, the wine reached 13.9% alcohol with a pH of 3.78. One of the keys to the vintage at Cheval Blanc was the extensive green harvesting needed, due to the extended time needed for flowering. In the perfume, the wine pops with flowers, licorice, earth, caramel and ripe, sweet blackberries. On the palate, the wine displays sweet black and red fruits, spice and a fresh purity of sweet fruit. The tannins are silky, the wine is fresh and long in the finish, complicated by an herbal, tapenade note buried in the fresh, ripe fruit. 94-96 Pts

Decanter.com

18,75 / 20

the4/22/2013

Understated, fresh, elegant nose. Beautifully pure fruit on the palate - blueberry and blackberry notes. Plump mid-palate then lovely, silky tannins. A notch better than a very good 2011. The winemaker compares it to 2000. 18.75/20pts ( 95+/100pts)
Drink: 2020 - 2040

Jamessuckling.com

93-94 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe4/4/2013

This is really beautiful with blackberry, chocolate, and light nuts character. Full yet refined and beautiful. Seamless tannins. It goes on for minutes. This is so elegant and beautiful. The tannins are just right and not overdone for the vintage.