x
  • Country ranking ?

    428
  • Producer ranking ?

    21
  • Decanting time

    2h
  • When to drink

    now to 2030
  • Food Pairing

    Hamburger

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The Story

Whether by design or by pure chance, there are in the world exceptional places. Cheval Blanc is one of these. Combining a unique soil with a symbiotic mix of grape varieties, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, Cheval Blanc produces a wine, which has the rare quality of being good at any age. It is without doubt one of the most consistent wines in the world. Cheval Blanc's unique identity is due to its varied soils, early-ripening microclimate, the per...

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Wine Information

1961 is an outstanding year. The frost on the 29th of May reduced the crop to just 11 hectolitres per hectare. Then, beautiful dry summer weather ripened the grapes to perfection. The wine is concentrated and classy, with superb tannin.

TEMPERATURES AND RAINFALL

1961 is a great year. The month of April was very hot (2.7°C above average), but with average rainfall. The temperatures the following months were also fairly normal, but there w...

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Vintage 1961

1961 - the greatest Bordeaux vintage ever?

I’m writing this during the en primeur campaign and notice that the Bordelais château-owners and négociants have been unusually quiet this year. I have followed this part of the market from a distance for close to 30 years now and have been told about a large number of “vintages of the century”. After the wines have been bottled and sold or the other way round, as the case is in Bordeaux, these cla...

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Average Bottle Price

2023 2020 2017 2015 2010 2005 2000
2 890€ +12.9% 2 560€ +40.4% 1 823€ +12.4% 1 622€ +11.2% 1 459€ +119.4% 665€ +75.9% 378€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Tasting note

color

Medium

ending

Medium

flavors

Cigar-box, Blueberry, Vegetal, Mint, Waxy and Toasty

nose

Youthful and Refined

recommend

Yes

taste

Concentrated, Complex, Well-structured, Medium-bodied, Firm, Rich and Ripe

Written Notes

The 1961 Cheval Blanc was complicated like a good murder mystery. Olives, oil and ocean oozed out of its nose. Touches of coconut and date provided kinky complexity. The palate was rich, saucy and lush, and it had great smack to its finish. It was exotic in a black way, a foxy lady, indeed (95).
  • 95p
Château-Bottled. Good condition with by the neck level. Decanted one hour. Moderately intense, brick-red, bright colour. Nose delivers lots of green aromas – blackcurrant leaves, capsicum and mintiness. Refined, medium-bodied palate with sheer aristocracy. The highly-marked acidity is enhanced by the green aromas of the wine, which delicately highlight cedar and cigar box flavours and refined firm tannins. Very concentrated in style but reserved compared to the opulent and rich 1947. This wine definitely has style, but it will never grow as big and outstanding as the 1947, or even 1964.
  • 94p

Top shoulder fill. Dar ruby, brick rim. Dark fruits, figs, leather, spices, exotic, almost lilies floral note, plums, leather, polished wood, intense and layered nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins polishing off, smooth and elegant texture, rounded, caressing, red fruit freshness towards finish, superb balance and length. 97

  • 97p
D 2 h / G 2 h Medium intensity with brick red colour. Voluptuous and pronounced nose, full of ripe dark fruits, some vegetal aromas and spicies. Rich but still elegant medium-bodied palate. Very supple tannins and lively acidity. Surprisingly youthful wine with cassis and leafy aromas. Stunning wine although not near the greatest Chevals. The wine will reveal its true colours in next ten years and will evolve nicely in another 15 years at least.
  • 95p
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Information

Origin

St. Emilion, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Extraordinary

Value For Money

Very good

Investment potential

Excellent

Fake factory

Serious

Glass time

1h
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