re-taste

Château Cheval Blanc

Château Cheval Blanc (French for "Castle White Horse"), is a wine producer in Saint-Émilion in the Bordeaux wine region of France. Its wine is one of only two to receive the highest rank of Premier Grand Cru Classé (A) status in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine of 1955, along with Château Ausone.

The estate's second wine is named Le Petit Cheval.

History

In 1832 Château Figeac sold 15 hectares/37 acres to M. Laussac-Fourcaud, including part of the narrow gravel ridge that runs through Figeac and neighboring vineyards and reaches Château Pétrus just over the border in Pomerol. This became Château Cheval Blanc which, in the International London and Paris Exhibitions in 1862 and 1867, won medals still prominent on its labels. The château remained in the family until 1998 when it was sold to Bernard Arnault, chairman of luxury goods group LVMH, and Belgian businessman Albert Frère, with Pierre Lurton installed as estate manager, a constellation similar to that of the group's other chief property Château d'Yquem.

Vineyard

The vineyard is considered to have three qualities: one third Pomerol as it is located on the boundary, one third Graves as the soil is gravelly, and the remaining third typical Saint-Émilion. The vineyard area is spread over 41 hectares, with 37 hectares planted with an unusual composition of grape varieties of 57% Cabernet Franc, 40% Merlot, and small parcels of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. The average annual production is 6000 cases of the Grand vin and 2500 cases of the second wine, Le Petit Cheval.

Controversy

The manager of Château Cheval Blanc, Jacques Hebrard, was outraged at the evaluation of his 1981 vintage barrel samples made by influential wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr. and asked him to re-taste. Upon arriving, Parker was attacked by Hebrard's dog as the manager stood idly by and watched. When Parker asked for a bandage to stop the bleeding from his leg, Parker says Hebrard instead gave him a copy of the offending newsletter. Hebrard denies that Parker was bleeding. However, Parker did retaste the wine and found it significantly changed from his previous evaluation, and therefore gave the wine an updated evaluation in a later issue of his publication The Wine Advocate.

In popular culture

In the 2007 Pixar animated film Ratatouille, the cynical food critic, Anton Ego (voiced by Peter O'Toole), suggests "You provide the food, I'll provide the perspective, which would go nicely with a bottle of Cheval Blanc 1947".

In the 2005 Luc Besson film Angel-A, Rie Rasmussen, playing Angel-A, secretly orders a bottle of Cheval Blanc while teaching the destitute André (played byJamel Debbouze) to relax and live better. When he finds out what he's drinking, André loses some of the wine through his nose.

In the 2004 film Sideways, a 1961 Château Cheval Blanc is the prized possession of Miles Raymond (Paul Giamatti), the oenophile central character. Somewhat inconsistently, the character voices negative opinions on Cabernet Franc and Merlot, which are the constituent grape varieties of this wine.

In the 1994 film The Naked Gun 33 1/3, Lieutenant Frank Drebin (portrayed by Leslie Nielsen), working undercover in a state prison, starts an inmate riot during chow time by complaining that "this Cheval Blanc '68 is supposed to be served slightly chilled; this is room temperature!"

In the 1987 episode "Rumpole and the Blind Tasting" of the British series Rumpole of the Bailey, the case revolves around dozens of cases of wine labeled 1971 Château Cheval Blanc.