2010 Petit Cheval
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Tasting notes
Just 20 % of the crop went into the Petit Cheval which spots superb fruit - a compot of hedgerow berries laced with coffee oak. There is perhaps a lack of lift at the end which hints at low acidity but this doesn't seem to be a problem as the purity of the fruit keeps the suggestion of freshness.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeannie Cho Lee MW
Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider
More reviews and scores
The 2010 Le Petit Cheval has a fragrant and well-defined bouquet with perfumed red cherries, boysenberry and mint aromas, focused, lively and full of vim and vigour. The oak is very well integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, a fine bead of acidity, slightly powdery in texture with a meaty, rather dry and ferrous finish. I wonder where this will go? Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.
Deep garnet colored, the 2010 Le Petit Cheval sashays out of the glass with expressive notes of warm black cherries, boysenberries and preserved plums plus wafts of mocha and cigar box. Full-bodied, the palate has firm, ripe, rounded tannins and oodles of freshness supporting the generous baked berries and earthy layers, finishing long and perfumed.
Tasted blind. Mid smudgy garnet. Really meaty on the nose at first but this blows off. Though there’s still some fruit behind it. A stalky note at the same time. On the palate, it is cleaner and it cleans up in the glass. Firm, chewy but not aggressive, fresh finish. (JH)
About the producer
Ch. Cheval Blanc is one the finest producers in Bordeaux. The Saint-Emilion estate’s Cabernet Franc-dominant wines are consistently among the top wines of the vintage.