Château Cheval Blanc 2024 Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé

Antonio Galloni, Vinous
(92-94)/100 punten
The 2024 Cheval Blanc is a blend taken from 37 of the 45 parcels on the property. Dried flowers, mocha, rose petal and blood orange open nicely in the bouquet, leading to an understated mid-palate and a subtly persistent finish. Understated and nuanced, the 2024 offers lovely forward fruit in a soft, accessible style with no hard edges or awkward contours. All the elements are nicely put together, and yet there is no denying the fact that the 2024 is very light. Élevage will be everything here.

Neal Martin, Vinous 
(93-95)/100 punten
The 2024 Cheval Blanc was picked from September 18 until October 3 and aged entirely in new oak with a little dabbling in concrete tanks and amphorae. The purity on the nose is the first facet that you notice with perfumed black cherry, blackcurrant, wild strawberry and touches of potpourri and crushed stone. There is certainly some mineralité  here. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly brittle tannins. Very well balanced, this is clearly a Cheval Blanc built in a more elegant, sapid, linear style with a residual pepperiness that lingers in the mouth. It will need just 2 or 3 years in bottle and should drink well for 20 to 25 years. The 2024 is charming and refined.

William Kelley, Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate
(94-96)/100 punten
A blend of 48% Cabernet Franc, 48% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2024 Château Cheval Blanc is one of the stars of the vintage. Unwinding in the glass with notes of minty berries and plums mingled with violets, cigar wrapper and rose petals, it's medium-bodied, suave and complete, with a cool, layered core of fruit, beautifully integrated tannins and a long, aromatic finish. Pierre-Olivier Clouet and his team conducted an aggressive green harvest and also, exceptionally, used densimetric sorting to mitigate heterogenous maturity between and within bunches (a consequence of a protracted flowering), accepting losses to rot in pursuit of full maturity. Yields were 39 hectoliters per hectare at harvest, but some 34% of that was eliminated between sorting and press wine (which is never retained at Cheval Blanc). Of what fermented, however, 70% ended up in the grand vin.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
94/100 punten
Lilac, peony flowers, same family of aromatics as the Petit Cheval, same feeling of finesse and precision, but here everything has been taken up a notch, more density, more slate and pumice stone texture. Expect subtle complexity, a wine that steals up on you, impresses in its precision and clarity. July and August just 20mm of rain each month, well below 30 year average, 140mm rain in September, highest since 2006, harvest September 18 to October 3, 3.62ph (3.9ph in 2022), 37 plots out of the 56 in the vineyard are in here. 100% new oak for ageing. Looking forward to seeing after ageing, it has all the elements and bones in place for a totally delicious Cheval.

Jancis Robinson
17/20 punten
Cabernet-led with the Merlot fleshing out the middle and providing identity. Plenty of freshness with fine, integrated tannins providing length and persistence. Light to medium weight but the oak (new) completely absorbed. Dark-fruit notes again on the finish. Less seductive than some years but has potential.

Peter Moser, Falstaff
96/100 punten
Deep dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, delicate rim brightening. Delicate nougat, a hint of cassis and savouriness, with ripe cherry in the background, fine wood nuances, multi-faceted, inviting bouquet. Taut, medium body, ripe tannins, fresh and elegant, still somewhat closed, mineral, good persistence, this wine definitely needs time to integrate the tannins, sure development and certain ageing potential.