2016 Chateau Cheval Blanc Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 750 ml

Cheval Blanc is a bucket-list wine in any vintage. But in a legendary year like 2016—a growing season in contention to be the best of our lifetimes—it’s about as good as wine gets.

Boasting two 100-point scores—including from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, who praised its “jaw-dropping elegance and depth”—it’s a Cheval Blanc that achieves immortality by expressing what makes the wine great. This is elegance and class personified, with aromatics that hold your attention and a palate that is as complex as the day is long.

Anyone who is lucky enough to own this can count it as the centerpiece of their collection.

Walking the hallowed terroir of Premier Grand Cru Classé “A” Château Cheval Blanc and witnessing manager Pierre Lurton’s unrelenting commitment to perfection is awe-inspiring. The winery is lined with graceful custom-made vats, one for each vineyard block. 

The barrel cellar is not only exquisite, but small, compared to the First Growths of Pauillac and Margaux—Cheval Blanc produces a mere 6,000 cases of grand vin, compared to up to 17,500 cases of Château Lafite. Considering Cheval Blanc’s worldwide reputation it comes as a surprise to know how little Cheval Blanc there actually is to go around.

The 2016 Cheval Blanc’s Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes hail from three main soils on the Cheval Blanc property: fine-textured clay—similar to Petrus—and both fine and large gravel. There isn't much gravel in Saint-Émilion, a soil more common in the Left Bank, and the gravel on Cheval Blanc’s property explains why the wine has a higher portion of Cab Franc than other Saint-Émilion bottlings. Cab Franc loves heat-retaining gravel, which allows the grape to ripen reliably every year. 

While the precious soils at Cheval Blanc don’t vary from year to year, the vintages do—and 2016 was legendary. The result is a wine that many of the world’s greatest critics agree is perfect. Talk about a First Growth that has delivered on the lofty promise of an excellent vintage.