©Regina Lee, 16 June 2021

Château Cheval Blanc, as its name suggests, is Château White Horse. I imagine a movie scene of a prince riding on it – a horse with smooth, straight and silky manes, galloping freely in a forest… Do you feel the heartbeat?

Back to the reality. Yes, I had a wild encounter with this bad boy the other day. 1998, proudly sitting in our fine wine room, shining like a star, yeah it’s you, bring it on! Around half-half Cabarnet Franc and Merlot, bringing out a vibrant fruit character; a dry summer in ‘98, facilitating ripening and increasing the concentration in the grapes; a cool autumn, without grey rot, and therefore healthy berries to harvest (more details are listed on their website). In short, this is a gem in our cellar!

It is like opening Pandora’s Box – a hint of red cherries, plum, rose petal on the nose… a refined and elegant wine it is, followed by cedar and hint of spice with a super long finish. We decided to just go with the flow and drink straight from the bottle – without decanting. It woke up like Sleeping Beauty, and we were stunned. You can also decant the bottle as many others do, but hey, why not drink it straight away?

So, the unrivalled Cheval. We have some ‘90s for you to enjoy right now, along with some 2010s to cellar. Thank me in 20 years. You are welcome!