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Château Cheval Blanc Premier Grand Cru Classé A Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2016 (Magnum 1.5L)

Reviews

100 -Robert Parker's Wine Advocate -

The 2016 Château Cheval Blanc is blended of 59.5% Merlot, 37.2% Cabernet Franc and 3.3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, the nose is incredibly youthful yet not so shy as some other 2016s at this stage, giving wonderfully intense scents of red currants, black cherries, wild blueberries and violets with nuances of star anise, cinnamon stick, rose hip tea, cigar box and wood smoke plus a touch of beef drippings. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has jaw-dropping elegance and depth, offering up layer upon layer of fragrant red and black fruits plus an extraordinary array of mineral sparks, supported by a rock-solid grainy texture, finishing with epic persistence and an edifying perfume. This is a very different style from the rich, opulently hedonic 2015, yet this wonderfully fragrant, beautifully poised and intellectually compelling 2016 is equally extraordinary.

99 -James Suckling -

98 -Vinous -

The 2016 Cheval Blanc has a beguiling bouquet with blackberry, raspberry, cedar, a touch of iron rust and black truffle scents that gain vigour with aeration. Stunning delineation. The palate is medium-bodied, with fine tannins, very pliant and exerting a gentle grip. Sleek and focused, it gains depth towards the finish, with a dash of black pepper that just won't disappear on the aftertaste. Heavenly. Tasted at Bordeaux Index's 10 Year On tasting in London.

98 -Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider -

Better from bottle than barrel, the wine is refined, elegant and fresh. Here is a wine of precision. The fruit is perfect in every way. There are no flaws, hard edges or even a hair out of place. It is going to need time in the cellar to soften, fill out and sex up. But this is going to hit that high level, you just need to be patient. Give it 12-15 years before opening a bottle. The wine was made using 59.5% Merlot, 37.5% Cabernet Franc and 3.3% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is the first vintage in 10 years that any Cabernet Sauvignon was used in the blend. 98 Points

98 -Falstaff -

Dark ruby with purple reflections and bright narrow rim. Savoury black berry fruit on the nose with delicate liquorice, dark cherry, fine noble wood notes and pleasant herbal character. Complex and very tightly meshed on the palate with subtle sweetness, integrated, supporting tannins and chocolate, ripe cherry and minerality on the finish. Excellent ageing potential, offering a lot of drinking pleasure over the next fifteen to twenty years.

98 -Jane Anson -

Still pretty restrained at this 10 year point, a reminder that 2016 even in St Emilion was old school in character and architecture, and here you get a fully sculpted Cheval Blanc. No question of its exceptional quality, delivering waves of cumin, incense, baking spice, iris, damson, raspberry leaf, with crayon and pumice stone texture drawing out taste and sapidity, and offering a mouthwatering finish. Extremely classy. 100% new oak for ageing.

98 -Decanter -

Initially quite closed, not yet revealing the ethereal typical Cabernet Franc perfume. The nose hints at remarkable concentration, while the palate delivers incredible density, supported by a lovely savoury bitterness. Structured and precise, this wine shows extraordinary depth and balance, but will require patience to reach its full aromatic expression. A Cheval of remarkable potential, combining power, finesse and longevity.

97+ -The Wine Independent -

The 2016 Cheval Blanc is subtle, round and creamy, with a fine mid-palate of crunchy, jammy fruit and deep, sweet notes of cherries, tobacco and velvety spices. The wine is elegant and aristocratic and even though the nose is pure silk, it also has s deep reservoir of unresolved, strong tannins and layers of dark stamina that needs to come around. It would still need 7-8 years of cellaring to meld together but this is a classic wine in the making.

97 -Jeb Dunnuck -

The grand vin 2016 Château Cheval Blanc checks in as 60% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon brought up in new barrels, and this is the first year a replanted block of Cabernet Sauvignon has made the top cuvée. Compared to the 2001 by Pierre Lurton, it displays stunning aromatic fireworks with notions of blackcurrants, forest floor, iron bar, graphite, and spice all soaring from the glass. It develops more floral nuances with time in the glass and, as always with this cuvée, it’s all about complexity and elegance. More medium to full-bodied, with beautiful tannins and perfect balance, it’s a decidedly classic, focused, elegant wine from this estate that will keep for 3-4 decades.

97 -Wine Enthusiast -

97 -Wine Spectator -

This has turned into a very dense wine, with waves of cassis, plum reduction and blackberry paste forming the core. Wrapped tightly in layers of tobacco and loam for now, while singed alder, incense, black tea and bergamot notes peek in here and there. The finish rumbles like thunder for now, with the swath of tannins, and there's just a twinge of drought-induced austerity. But there's acidity and drive too, and this will cruise in the cellar for some time. Best from 2025 through 2045.

Technical Details

Blend 59.5% Merlot, 37.2% Cabernet Franc, 3.3% Cabernet Sauvignon
Winemaker Pierre Lurton & Pierre-Olivier Clouet
Country France
Region Bordeaux
Sub Region Right Bank
Appellation Saint-Émilion
Vineyard Estate vineyards of Château Cheval Blanc, Premier Grand Cru Classé A
Farming Method Organic & Biodynamic Practices
Oak 100% new French oak barriques
Aging / Cooperage 16-18 months
Alcohol 14%

Château Cheval Blanc Premier Grand Cru Classé A Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2016 (Magnum 1.5L)

Name: Château Cheval Blanc Premier Grand Cru Classé A Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2016 (Magnum 1.5L)
Brand: First Bottle
SKU: 1014868
Price: 1699.0 USD
Availability: OutOfStock

Bordeaux Blends | Bordeaux

WA100, JS99, VN98, JL98, FS98, JA98, DC98, TWI97+, JD97, WE97, WS97

SPECIAL: Complimentary Ground Shipping!

Organic & Biodynamic Practices

$2,000.00

$1,699.00

1.5L

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The one and only Cheval Blanc! A PERFECT 100 pointer from the modernly classic 2016 vintage, offered in wildly rare, inconceivably limited large-format bottles! No time to waste reading – get yourself to the cart before they’re gone in a flash!

Back in 1832, while everyone else in Saint-Émilion was obsessing over Merlot, the Laussac-Fourcaud family looked at their rare, gravel-clay soils and decided to make Cabernet Franc the star. It was a complete gamble that ended up defining Right Bank history. They ran the place for over 150 years before handing the keys to Bernard Arnault (LVMH), but the attitude never left. In fact, when Cheval Blanc famously stepped away from the Saint-Émilion classification in 2022, it merely confirmed that true greatness requires no official label.

The 2016 vintage is an absolute tour de force and won a perfect 100 points from Wine Advocate. The blend is 59% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in 100% new French oak. Pierre Lurton and his winemaking team picked everything in a tight 10-day window to lock in maximum freshness alongside immense power.

In the glass, you can expect nothing less than pure, soul-stirring magic. It’s dense and structured yet impossibly silky and still endlessly fresh at 10 years old (especially so in its large-format bottle, which extends the aging life of wine considerably). You’re getting massive waves of ripe cassis, black cherry, and plum reduction, laced with wild mint, crushed rocks, black truffle, and delicate violet notes. It’s got a killer line of acidity that gives it endless energy, with fine-grained, cashmere-like tannins that carry the finish for what feels like forever.

This is the ultimate showstopper, collector’s prize, and party centerpiece any serious wine lover needs in their collection. For hundreds off its typical retail price, plus free shipping, it’s yours to treasure. The only question is whether you’ll open it now, or sometime over the next 30 years?

FOOD PAIRINGS: This is the ultimate dinner party or celebration bottle. I’d whip up some wagyu beef sliders with truffle aioli to bring out all the myriad fruit and earth layers and flavors buzzing throughout this big, brilliant bottle.

About The Producer

Few wines on earth carry the weight of Cheval Blanc. Carved out of the eastern corner of Saint-Émilion in 1832 — originally part of the massive Figeac estate — the property was shaped into its current form by the Laussac-Fourcaud family, who planted an unusually high proportion of Cabernet Franc on the estate's rare gravel soils and guided the wine to global renown. The Laussac-Fourcauds held it for over 150 years before selling to Bernard Arnault and Baron Albert Frère in 1998, with LVMH eventually assuming a 50% stake in 2009. Pierre Lurton has led the estate for decades, overseeing a striking new winery (inaugurated in 2011) and the ongoing cultivation of 39 hectares split roughly 52% Cabernet Franc and 43% Merlot. In a notable move, Cheval Blanc withdrew from the Saint-Émilion classification in 2022, citing concerns about the system's direction — a decision that surprised no one who understands how far beyond any ranking this wine has always lived.

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