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  • Country ranking ?

    903
  • Producer ranking ?

    43
  • Decanting time

    4h
  • When to drink

    now to 2035
  • Food Pairing

    Meatloaf

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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

2003 Vintage: The very hot and rather dry summer promised an exceptional vintage…
Although total rainfall between April and September was close to normal, heavy storms hit the Bordeaux region, miraculously sparing Cheval Blanc. Distinct variations in temperature in a rather mild month of May on the whole, disrupted the flowering. Budburst was early, on 25th March for the Merlot, and 30th March for the Cabernet Franc, and the
mid-point of flo...

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Vintage 2003

2003 was the hottest vintage ever seen in Bordeaux. The most successful châteaux have passed their exceptional 2000s and some claim to have made their greatest wines in living memory.

Very dry and extremely hot summer days and nights (16 days > 95°F compared to 2 in 2000, 6 in 2005, 4 in 2009). Need to eliminate the superscript here. I can't figure out how to do it.) The deeply colored reds, low acidities and high tannins are a departure fr...

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Latest Pro-tasting notes

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Written Notes

2003, even though an extremely hot year, got plenty of plaudits in the early days. Most are a little more reticent these days, but there are some good wines among them. This was one that didn't get a massive plug in the early days, though certainly was up there with the better wines. I remember trying it at the Chateau (apols, but if you'd care to keep quiet, you'll hear me dropping a few more names!) and it blew us all away. Not quite the 2000, but not much is. A seriously intense wine, ripe, concentrated, rich, plenty of tannins and very, very long. Dark berries, cassis, cigar box. It surely has an illustrious future ahead of it and should be one of the longest lived of all the '03s. The main impression of this wine is the wonderful intensity. 96
  • 96p
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Information

Origin

St. Emilion, Bordeaux

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Satisfactory

Investment potential

Good

Fake factory

Be Cautious

Glass time

2h
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