Cheval des Andes 2023 Mendoza - OWC6

James Suckling
98 punten
This vintage shows good precision as it zeroes in on balance and complexity with a Bordeaux-like sensibilty. Excellent complexity on the nose, showing currants, paprika, cedary blackberries, tobacco, grilled herbs and touches of cocoa powder and roasted sweet spices. Round and more effortless this year, with a positively fluid, precise mouth-feel, Medium body round off by silky, sweet tannins. Lightly creamy at the end but really integrated and elegant, with a long, supple finish. A blend of 57% cabernet sauvignon, 40% malbec and 3% petit verdot. Already approachable, but can hold for a decade, if not more

Jeb Dunnuck
98 punten
As finely made as the 2021, the 2023 is 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Malbec, and 3% Petit Verdot from a massal selection taken from Bordeaux. Barrel-fermented and aged, it’s gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, exceptionally well-made and precise in its grasp of rich mouthfeel, incredible structure, and intoxicating aromatics of cedarwood, tobacco, and wildflowers. The full-bodied concentration is supple and seamless, with layers of inky blue and black fruit as well as cacao nib lending a subtle richness complemented by graphite and dried herb. This is a cru of excellence that should be in its prime 2030-2043.

Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux
98 punten
Deliciously dark fruit, concentrated and powerful but with the lightest of touches through the palate. There is creamy blackberry and cassis, leafy, red roses, pulses of air and lift. Pierre Polbos winemaker.

The Drinks Business
98 punten
(Mendoza; 57% Cabernet Sauvignon; 40% Malbec; 3% Petit Verdot; sourced from the Las Compuertas and Paraje Altamira vineyards at 1070 and 1080 metres of altitude respectively; pH 3.80; 14.3% alcohol; tasted three times, first at the Joanne press tasting, then from a sample sent to me in Paris and finally at Cheval Blanc with the team that made it). Grace, charm and refinement. Less intensely floral than it sometimes is, and perhaps a little more ‘bulby’ in its florality. Peony and iris, maybe a little lilac too. Black cherry, blueberry and crushed raspberry. This has a lovely crystallinity at the core – the signature both of Cheval des Andes and Cheval Blanc whose wine-making informs this so clearly. Blood orange freshness, despite this coming from a hotter vintage. All very pure and bright and lifted. Succulent, svelte and with a beautiful presence and form in the mouth. Saline and mineral on the finish with a hint of liquorice, this becomes more and more savoury. Substantial and with considerable tannic density, but so finely grained! Like the 2022 more of a vin de garde than the earlier vintages.

Falstaff
98 punten
Elegant, complex bouquet: Earl Grey tea, currants, wild cherries, light tobacco, rosemary, and subtle notes of cocoa beans. Good body, juicy, plenty of fine, sweet tannins, good structure, a refined acidity profile, dense, full, ripe blackberry fruit, mulberries, blackberries, dried herbs, dark chocolate, a hint of cloves on the finish, long.

Wine Advocate
96 punten
A very impressive rendition of a generally warm, dry vintage, the 2023 Cheval des Andes opens with a more red-fruited, brighter character than is typical, accented by dried herb, graphite, dried mint and lifted floral tones that come to the fore with aeration. Echoing the lifted nature of the nose, the palate delivers the soft, elegantly polished profile that one can routinely expect at this address, albeit with a slightly more slender core. It concludes with a persistent finish defined by understated richness and a notably refined tannin profile, the latter of which is particularly impressive, as it is often a shortcoming of this harvest. The blend is 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot.