1947 Château Cheval Blanc
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Tasting notes
All good things must come to an end, and the 1947 Cheval Blanc has lost some of its famously dramatic flair over the last decade: while it retains compelling qualities, it is no longer the legend it once was. Exhibiting aromas of sweet raisins and caramel intermingled with notions of berry preserve, licorice, dark chocolate and vine smoke, it's full-bodied, velvety and rich, with a fleshy, layered core and a supple, pliant profile, remaining impressively seamless and vibrant, and concluding with a long but raisiny finish. By the numbers, it checks in at 14.5% alcohol and pH 3.69 (both far from unusually elevated by the standards of the Right Bank today), with just under half a gram of residual sugar and fully 1.16 grams per liter of volatile acidity (expressed as H2SO4 as is the convention of French enology). The latter number is certainly eye-opening, and all the more so because volatility really doesn't stand out on either the nose or the palate!
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Vandermeulen Belgian bottling. Very deep crimson. Thick, sweet, dense. Even a slight hint of coconut on the nose. Lots of acid. A bit coarse and funky. Muddy. Indistinct. This actually seemed younger than the 1949 Chevals served with it. 19 Jun 2004 (JR)
Two bottles served bought by Bipin at Christie’s for £420 for six bottles. I haven’t tasted many bottles of this but I do remember Aubert de Villaine of DRC, a very reserved man, tasting it with the three female shareholders then and being moved to kiss all three. Warm, dry perfect weather. 15 Sep – 4 Oct. 4-6 g/l residual sugar and VA 1.2 rather than the usual 0.6-0.8. A bit more like vintage port in a way. There were three bottles of which only two were opened amid lots of discussion as to which of the three was the odd one out. Bipin’s bottle: level high shoulder and kept in the same place for 30 years (red dot). The green dot bottle came from Europe –another great collector. Very very deep blackish crimson with some brick at the rim. So big and rich and porty but without the lift of my perfect magnum. Intriguing. So luscious – this did improve in the glass. Very rich with cough medicine characteristics. Very long. A fair old marvel – better than the château bottled example served at Palais Coburg. (JR)
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.