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Cheval Blanc 1947

Château Cheval Blanc, Bordeaux, France

Château Cheval Blanc
Bordeaux France
  • 100
    Points
  • The 18 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 47 Pros of
    48 recommend
    this wine
882 100
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    15

  • Producer ranking ?

    1

  • Decanting time

    3h

  • When to drink

    now to 2035

  • Food Pairing

    Enjoy without food

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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Like Petrus 1947, almost 75% of all the necociant's 1947 Cheval bottlings we have tasted, have been fakes. So, it would be wise not to buy any of them with only 25% chance of authencity.

Cheval-Blanc, 1947 – £192,000 / This rare six-litre bottle of Cheval Blanc 1947 wine was sold to a private collector during a sale at Christies in Geneva. The only known bottle in the Imperial format was expected to sell for between US$150,000-$200,000, but...

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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

1947 IS CONSIDERED THE MOST FAMOUS CHEVAL BLANC OF THE 20TH CENTURY!

As you leaf through the pages of the Cheval Blanc book of flavors, pause for just a moment and hold your breath when you come to the 1947 vintage.
That year’s climate can be summarized quite simply: absolutely magnificent weather from the beginning of April to the end of October, throughout the whole vegetation cycle. The highly concentrated grapes picked on the 15th of S...

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Vintage 1947

Where the 1945 represents sophistication, nuance and classic character, the 1947 is all about richness, robustness and succulence. Spring was delayed that year, which meant a late start to the growing season. Summer warmed up toward the autumn and the abundant sunshine ripened the grapes very quickly. Daytime temperatures ranged between 35-38° C. The crop was finally harvested in nearly tropical conditions, when a thunderstorm ravaged Bordeaux...

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Average Bottle Price

2023 2020 2017 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2005 2000 1995
7 650€ +7.4% 7 120€ +8.0% 6 590€ -5.1% 6 943€ +21.1% 5 733€ -11.6% 6 485€ +8.4% 5 985€ +12.7% 5 310€ -5.9% 5 640€ +112.8% 2 650€ +32.0% 2 008€ +61.9% 1 240€

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

Deep, Brick red and Dark

ending

Long, Lingering and Spicy

flavors

Leather, Blackcurrant, Pepper, Plum, Voluptuous and Coffee

nose

Intense, Refined, Complex and Generous

recommend

Yes

taste

Average in Acidity, Warming, Medium tannin, Well-structured, Perfectly balanced, Concentrated, Developing, Full-bodied, Rich, Harmonious, Ripe, Dry and Silky tannins

Verdict

Masterpiece and Impressive

Written Notes

Speaking of spectacular, the 1947 Cheval Blanc wasn’t too shabby, either. It had a deep nose full of signature motor oil, and these wheaty and smoky qualities like burnt crops. Its palate was thick, sweet, long and round. This was lush and rich, although I have never had it reach the heights it did on New Year’s Eve in 1999. The wine may be in a long, slow decline, but it was still knock my socks off good. Hollywood Jef agreed, even though the Bad Boy was hating on it (97).
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  • 97p
This wine was made from exceptionally ripe, almost raisin-like grapes with a high sugar content (about two-thirds Cabernet Franc and one-third Merlot). The harvesting was left till the last moment and the alcohol content raised to 15%, which is 2% higher than normal. Good level, bottom neck. Excellent appearance. Dark, mature and deep colour. Incredibly huge chocolaty, leathery, porty nose. Very prosperous and ripe. Great extract. The load and richness of almost overripe fruit was so appealing that it was hard to resist and not just drink the whole bottle right away. Very gentle and soft wine, almost feminine in character, and at the same time so powerful and masculine. It has everything a wine can offer in such a historical and exclusive package that it is challenging to find anything as stunning as it! ...And the celebrated aftertaste, I can still sense it after two long days and nights. A perfect and “out of this world” experience.
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  • 100p

A blind tasting dinner at Hinds Head in Bray-on-Thames.
Quite wonderful wine. This is the best bottle I have ever come across (and I had been lucky enough to have another exceptionally good bottle two months previously at a wonderful comparison of some of the great wines of the late 1940s and 1953s). I’ve been lucky enough to taste this wine relatively often and up to this time the best example had been from a magnum tasted in Burgundy in 1994 – but this was definitely the best bottle I have ever come across. Still bright crimson. Tingling with life and excitement. Rich but reverberating - like celestial sweet Earl Grey tea. Floral, lovely and so FRESH! This wine floats across the palate. There’s the most amazing transparency to it – it’s not heavy yet it makes an extraordinary impression. Then the flavours develop on the finish in a peacock’s tail of complexity. I honestly don’t expect ever to taste a wine better than this.

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  • 100p

Normally one wouldn’t put a fake bottle among the tasting notes, but this is here as this is one of the most faked wines out there. This was a “Vandermeulen” bottling. Very top shoulder, deep ruby with brick rim. Ripe fruit, slightly volatile, roses, black- and blueberries, fresh acidity and ripe but gripping tannins. Chocolate, minerals and a touch of green peppers, later on violets, OK length. I would guess this was a Bordeaux wine, could be something like a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru with some age, it was very much drinkable, I gave it 85. This does not sound anything like the wine's normal description of full throttle Port like intensity. Cork was way too young, nothing printed on it, and was not possible to get back in the bottle, it expanded and became large as a new Champagne cork within a few minutes of pulling it. It looked like it had been soaked in wine for a few days (it was pale pink) and put in with simple old cork machine. It had a square mark on the top while in the bottle. I do not know if the label would be correct for Vandermeulen, foil colour was not.

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he wine sings in a glorious voice with a range in flavours that is just mind boggling. It is sweet, supple and layered with great length. Pure sensuality in a glass.

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  • 100p
Good looking magnum size bottle.
- (Tasting note created by Tb's AI)
  • 100p
Château Chéval-Blanc 1947 was not the perfect bottle, as I have tasted a better one before. The wine was complex, beautifully structured, with fantastic tannins (fine and precise), but somehow it was just a bit too short on the finish, showing a hint of dustiness which made us suspect a less then perfect cork.
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  • 96p
Wide, mature, complex, refined, seductive and tempting on the nose. The taste is round, focused, harmonious, perfectly balanced, well-structured, concentrated and full-bodied. Endless, round, lingering, pure and spicy. Impressive, masterpiece and outstanding. Decanted 2t and drink between 2020 and 2030. Costs about 5k€ + per bottle. Good value for money.
- (Tasting note created by Tb's AI)
  • 100p
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Information

Origin

St. Emilion, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Extraordinary

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

Very Good

Fake factory

Too Risky

Glass time

1h

Drinking temperature

18

Inside Information

The overall level of alcohol was 14.4°. Since the beginning of the 20th century, only the 1929 vintage had produced riper grapes (14°6 potential alcohol).  The sweet juice combined with hot weather during the harvest made fermentation difficult, even calling for bringing huge blocks of ice in from Bordeaux every day in order to cool down the cellar.   The wine is not perfectly dry (there are 3 g/l of residual sugar) and the level of volatile acidity is rather high. However, these two factors actually help support the structure and enhance the aromas. That is because the wine's natural richness does not make them seem like defects.  It can even be said that this great wine is something of an accident. During this post-war period, the estate did not have access to new barrels, so ones five to ten years old, were used.

 

 

 

Bordeaux Book, 3rd Edition 
Jan 1998		 Robert M. Parker, Jr. 100 Drink: 1992 - 2022 $6947-$28000

What can I say about this mammoth wine that is more like port than dry red table wine? The 1947 Cheval Blanc exhibits such a thick texture it could double as motor oil. The huge nose of fruitcake, chocolate, leather, coffee, and Asian spices is mind-boggling. The unctuous texture and richness of sweet fruit are amazing. Consider the fact that this wine is, technically, appallingly deficient in acidity and excessively high in alcohol. Moreover, its volatile acidity levels would be considered intolerable by modern day oenologists. Yet how can they explain that after 47 years the wine is still remarkably fresh, phenomenally concentrated, and profoundly complex? It has to make you wonder about the direction of modern day winemaking. Except for one dismal, murky, troubled, volatile double-magnum, this wine has been either perfect or nearly perfect every time I have had it. But beware, there are numerous fraudulent bottles, particularly magnums, of 1947 Cheval Blanc in the marketplace. 

Having a 1947 Cheval Blanc served out of an impeccably stored magnum three times over the last three years made me once again realize what a great job I have. The only recent Bordeaux vintages that come even remotely close to the richness, texture, and viscosity of so many of these right bank 1947s are 1982 and 1990. 
Last tasted 10/94
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