In the world of French wine, Chateau Cheval Blanc is like an elegant knight quietly guarding the Saint-Emilion region on the right bank of Bordeaux. This winery, named after the “white horse”, not only has a long history, but also becomes a sanctuary in the hearts of wine lovers with its excellent quality and unique cultural connotation.
The Legendary History of Chateau Cheval Blanc
The history of grape cultivation at Chateau Cheval Blanc is very long, which can be traced back to the 15th century. In 1832, Jean-Jacques Ducasse, chairman of the Libourne Trade Tribunal, opened a new chapter for the winery on this land. He carefully selected the land and planted grapes, laying the foundation for the future of Chateau Cheval Blanc. Later, Jean-Jacques Ducasse’s daughter Henriette married Jean Laussac-Fourcaud, and the winery was transferred to the Fourcaud family.
Under the leadership of the Fourcaud family, the winery’s reputation gradually spread on the international stage and became a shining pearl in the Bordeaux region:
● 1862 Universal Exhibition in London, won the first bronze medal
● 1878 Universal Exhibition in Paris, won the gold medal
● 1886 Universal Exhibition in Antwerp, won the gold medal
By the late 19th century, Chateau Cheval Blanc could rival the first-class wineries on the left bank of Bordeaux, and was listed as the best first-class A winery in the 1955 Saint-Emilion rating, and has maintained this highest level in the re-rating many times ever since.
In 1998, Chateau Cheval Blanc opened a new chapter again. Bernard Arnault, CEO of LVMH Group, and Baron Albert Frere, the richest man in Belgium, jointly acquired Chateau Cheval Blanc. The two respected the tradition and history of the winery, retained the original winemaking team of the winery, and injected innovative ideas, further improving the quality of the winery’s wine.
Detailed Vineyard Management
The winery’s management of the vineyard is very detailed. The vineyard is divided into 53 plots of land, each of which is managed by a dedicated person to ensure the health and maturity of the grapes. At the time of grape harvest, the vineyard manager and technical director will screen the grapes based on standards such as aroma strength, acidity and sugar balance, tannin maturity, etc., to ensure that the final grapes entering the winemaking process are the best.
Exquisite Winemaking Techniques
The winery implements a strict and detailed winemaking process, reducing the use of chemicals to the greatest extent to produce fresh and elegant wines. After the grapes are crushed, they are placed in small cans with a capacity of 450KG, and then the grape juice is flowed into the fermentation tank through the Gravity Flow method. The winemaker will choose different fermentation tanks based on the weight of the crushed grape juice and the source plot, and only fill it 3/4.
Alcohol ferments for 12 hours, and workers perform skinning three times a day. Afterwards, the workers will gradually reduce the number of skinning based on the daily tasting and liquid density measurement data of the technical team and the cellar manager. After alcohol fermentation is completed, the wine will be soaked in the temperature-controlled fermentation tank at 28-30℃ for several days to make the tannins softer and the structure smoother. Afterwards, the wine will be transferred to a fermentation tank at 20℃ for Malolactic Fermentation for 3 weeks to several months to soften the acidity and stabilize the structure.
After the entire fermentation process, the wine is transferred to new oak barrels and aged in a wine cellar at a constant temperature of 14℃ for 16-18 months. The winemaker will replace the oak barrels at this stage and transfer the wine to the adjacent oak barrels with inert gas to minimize oxidation and maintain the balance of the wine. After three months of oak barrel aging, the winemaker will taste the wine in each oak barrel and blend it to produce the red wine of Chateau Cheval Blanc of the year.
Whether it’s a young or aged wine from Chateau Cheval Blanc, there are always different surprises. In its youth, although it has not yet accumulated deep precipitation, it has already shown a soft and sweet flavor. However, after the baptism and sedimentation of the years, the aged Chateau Cheval Blanc is like an experienced winemaking master, each drop is full of layered taste and aftertaste, very distinctive.
