• Awarded 100 Points by Jeb Dunnuck
  
• "Perfectly Integrated Tannins" ~99 JS
• "Sublime Elegance" ~99 VM
• "Juicy and Clean" ~98 Decanter
  
• "A Beautiful Vintage" ~95-98 WS

About the Wine

This is a BHW Direct Import/Ex-Chateau item. This is a futures item that is expected to deliver during 2025. 

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Château Cheval Blanc is one of Bordeaux’s most prestigious estates, renowned for producing exceptional wines that consistently rank among the best in the world. Situated in the Saint-Émilion appellation, the estate’s vineyards are a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with a small portion of Cabernet Sauvignon, which contribute to the wine's signature complexity and balance. The 2022 vintage continues this tradition, showcasing a wine that is both sublimely elegant and intensely structured.

The 2022 Château Cheval Blanc is notable for being produced from 46 out of the 47 parcels that make up the estate, the highest proportion of blocks ever used for the Grand Vin. This year, the estate made the decision to forgo the production of Petit Cheval, directing all the grapes into the Grand Vin. The wine was crafted from a blend of 53% Merlot and 46% Cabernet Franc, with a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon, resulting in a wine that is both rich and precise. Additionally, three-quarters of the Merlot was harvested unusually early, in August, which had never been done before.

The 2022 vintage stands out for its exceptional purity, balance, and freshness. The estate has focused on creating a wine with grip and structure while maintaining refinement and elegance. Critics have noted the wine’s intense aromatic complexity, with layers of blackcurrant, blueberry, and violet, as well as underlying hints of spice and graphite. The wine’s texture is described as velvety, with powdery tannins and a long, fragrant finish that sets it apart as one of the most elegant and refined vintages in recent memory.

Aging: 12-13 months in French oak barrels

Tasting Notes

53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. Expect a sublime yet intense expression of Saint-Émilion: elegant, rich, and structured. The wine offers blackcurrant, blueberry, and violet aromas, accented by hints of spice, graphite, and mint. The palate is medium-bodied, with velvety tannins and a long, fragrant finish, while the wine maintains a perfect balance of freshness and depth. A precise, refined wine with a charged yet harmonious profile.

Critical Reviews

The 2022 Château Cheval Blanc is based on 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon, brought up all in new oak, and this is the second year where no Petite Cheval was produced. (2015 was the last.) Its deep purple color is followed by a riveting Cheval Blanc that has fabulous aromatics of blackcurrants, spice, flowers, spicy wood, and white truffle. These carry to a medium to full-bodied, remarkably pure, elegant, seamless 2022 that has a layered, rounded mouthfeel, absolutely riveting purity, velvety tannins, and a great finish. It brings to mind a more refined, elegant version of the 2010 and is every bit its equal. Hitting 14% alcohol with a healthy pH of 3.83, it warrants a solid decade of bottle age and will have 40-50+ years of overall prime drinking. ~100 Jeb Dunnuck

Extremely perfumed, showing red roses and violets as well as hints of flower stems. A touch of sandalwood. This turns to blue fruits with such pure grape character, like smelling must. Savory, light brine and black olives. The palate is tight and refined before taking off at the end. The perfectly integrated tannins melt into the wine, giving it fascinating tension and intensity. 53% merlot, 46% cabernet franc and 1% cabernet sauvignon. Drink after 2028. ~99 James Suckling

The 2022 Cheval Blanc is quite unusual in that it was made from 46 out of the 47 parcels that make up the estate, the highest proportion of blocks ever used in the Grand Vin. There is also no Petit Cheval. One block was sold in bulk, and everything else went into the Grand Vin. That's basically it. In tasting, the 2022 is a wine of sublime elegance, and yet there's a certain strictness in its vertical build that keeps things buttoned up. Time in the glass starts to release the Cabernet Franc aromatics, but this remains incredibly dense. It barely budged over the two days I followed it. All the 2022 needs is time. The only question is how much. ~99 Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

Extremely aromatic - floral and perfumed with rich dark black fruits, liquorice, crayon, blueberries, and purple flowers, lifted by hints of mint. Fresh and vibrant from the start, this has a defined core with tension and structure. Velvety soft tannins and precise, mouthwatering fruit with a creamy touch that adds to its sumptuous feel. Juicy and clean, with a vein of liquorice spice that adds seriousness. With air, it softens and becomes more chewy and round — gentle yet utterly moreish. Graphite minerality lingers on the finish. A charged yet charming Cheval Blanc that will benefit from air to fully express itself. 78% grand vin, no Petit Cheval with the remaining 22% (press wine) sold as bulk. 3.83pH. ~98 Decanter

The 2022 Château Cheval Blanc has turned out beautifully in bottle, bursting from the glass with aromas of minty mulberries, licorice and rose petals mingled with hints of pipe tobacco and baking chocolate. Full-bodied, rich and velvety, it's layered and unctuous, with sweet, powdery tannins and a broad, enveloping profile, concluding with a long, fragrant finish. Flamboyant but controlled, this blend of 53% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon spent only 12 months in barrique. There's no Petit Cheval this year, as what little wasn't deemed up to the level of the grand vin was sold off in bulk. ~98 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate

Three-quarters of the Merlot in the 2022 Cheval Blanc was Merlot picked in August—when no grape had ever been picked in that month before. It aged for just 13 months since the balance, texture and freshness were all exactly where they should be and there were concerns about the pH and potential spoilage if it spent a second winter in oak. The 2022 has an incredibly intense nose, yet it effortlessly maintains the delineation that most Right Bank estates can only dream about. Hints of blackcurrant, blueberry, violet, Earl Grey and an underlying mineralité come through with time. The palate is medium-bodied, perfectly balanced, pure and well defined with filigree tannins and hints of pencil shavings infusing the shimmering black fruit. A deft touch of black pepper on the aftertaste completes one of the standout wines in recent years. Tasted in September 2024 and then in January 2025 because I...err...forgot that I had already visited! ~98 Neal Martin, Vinous Media