Winemaker Notes
Ruby red color, characteristic of its youth.The nose starts out intense, with balsamic notes and aromas of cocoa, caramel, and vanilla, combined with fruity nuances reminiscent of cherry and strawberry. Swirling in the glass enhances these fruity hints. The wine’s freshness is brought out with licorice overtones along side wonderfully expressive notes of Virginia tobacco. On the palate, this wine is full-bodied and silky, with round, delicate and smooth tannin mid-palate.The long finish is redolent of very ripe red fruit.
The Barrel Sample for this wine is above 14% ABV.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
This is a gorgeous rippling wine with a clear muscular frame. It's a year where there are more tannins than in 2018, and this has a wonderful two-step, fruit tannin fruit tannin rhythm that propels the wine forward through the palate. Iris flowers and berry fruit, with smoked-tinged cedar oak.
Barrel Sample: 93
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Exhibiting aromas of plums, sweet wild berries, rose petals, spices and cigar wrapper, the 2019 Le Petit Cheval is medium to full-bodied, velvety and seamless, with supple tannins and succulent acids. Pierre-Olivier Clouet explains that his aspiration is to produce 100% Cheval Blanc and that, as a result, this cuvée simply represents anything that doesn't belong in the grand vin's blend. Of course, however, it shares some of the latter's DNA. Best after 2021.
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Wine Spectator
Dark and alluring, showing alder, espresso, steeped black currant and blackberry compote flavors that all cruise along, inlaid with notes of warm ganache and humus. On the hefty side but has breed and class. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2023.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.