Chateau Cheval Blanc 2010

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Deep garnet in color and made of 54% Cabernet Franc and 46% Merlot, the nose of the 2010 Cheval Blanc is a bit subdued to begin, measuredly opening out to reveal achingly provocative notions of molten chocolate, preserved Morello cherries, baked blackberries, boysenberries and blueberry compote with wafts of underbrush, cigar box, cumin seed and sandalwood. Full-bodied, the palate is a full-on atomic bomb waiting to go off, with very tightly coiled, slowly maturing black fruits eking out glimpses of a vast array of nuances. Still very youthful, it finishes with an incredibly persistent, jaw-dropping display of earth and mineral fireworks. I’d leave this one for another 5 years and drink it over the next 50."

JAMES SUCKLING: "The aromas here are crazy with flowers, mushroom, forest floor, and fruit. It seems like I am walking through a row of the vines in Cheval Blanc when I have my nose in the glass. It's full-bodied, with fabulous layers of ultra-fine tannins and milk chocolate, raspberries, and a phenomenal finish. Truly one of the greatest Chevals ever. Better than 2009. Try in 2020."

JEB DUNNUCK: "Showing even better than a bottle a few years ago, the 2010 Chateau Cheval Blanc is perfection in a glass and wine doesn’t get any better. As with the 2009, it’s a powerful, concentrated Cheval Blanc, yet it has a slightly dark, cooler profile in its smoky black fruits, graphite, new leather, crushed rocks and cured meat aromas and flavors. Where the 2009 hits the palate with a sunny, sexy style, this stays more inward and masculine, yet it still has incredible sweetness of fruit, flawless integration of its fruit, tannins, and acidity, a great mid-palate, and a finish that goes on for over a minute. It opens up with time in the glass and offers incredible pleasure today, with an exotic masculine yet sexy style, but feel free to enjoy this legendary wine any time over the coming 3-4 decades."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Feine, mit einem Hauch von Kokos unterlegte Gewürznuancen, angenehme Edelholzwürze, zart nach Nougat, reife Kirschen, sehr vielschichtig, verführerisches Bukett. Saftig, gute Komplexität, extraktsüße, vielgeschichtete Textur, präsente, präzise Tannine, hier ist alles perfekt ausgeführt, was wirklich großen Wein ausmacht, hat eine Riesenzukunft vor sich."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "This is the finest Cheval Blanc for many years. It is, quite simply, magnificent. The wine shows the greatness of Cabernet Franc in the vintage, with 57% of the variety in the blend. It is beautifully structured and perfumed, with velvety tannins, balanced acidity and swathes of black-currant and black-cherry fruits. It's well on course to becoming a legendary wine."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "An intriguing perfume filled with stone, flowers, blackberry liqueur, dark plums, licorice, smoke, oak and hints of bitter chocolate, asks and receives your attention. Lush, sensuous, silk and velvet drenched fruit drenched with opulence that borders on decadence coat your palate. The pure, intense, sensuous finish lasts at least 60 seconds. This sublime Bordeaux wine has become a better tasting experience since last tasted."

WINE SPECTATOR: "This is stone-cold shut down right now, but why worry? You'll want to wait at least a decade before breaching a bottle as massively endowed as this, with loads of loamy bass notes thumping along underneath a riveting track of licorice snap, pastis-steeped black currant fruit, maduro tobacco and espresso. And then there's an echo of petrichor at the very end that hints at the aromatic fireworks to come with cellaring. Should compete for wine of the vintage. Best from 2020 through 2040."

WEINWISSER: "55 % Cabernet Franc, 45 % Merlot. 30 hl/ha. Noch verhaltenes Bouquet, Kandisnuancen, Flieder, dunkle Pflaumen, Cassis, Schwarzteenoten, setzt mehr auf Tiefe und Würze als auf Frucht. Fleischiger, stoffiger Gaumen, zeigt viel Fett und Schmelz in den reichhaltigen Tanninen, gigantische Aromatik, die im Gaumen zunimmt, gebündeltes Finale. Klassischer Cheval, der erst in 20 Jahren seine effektive Grösse zeigen wird."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Tasted blind. Pretty deep crimson. Slightly raw nose. Fairly lightweight and with sandy tannins. This seemed to have a little hole in the middle initially but it really grew in the glass in a most impressive way. A nice dried-spice note emerged, with a little bit of alcohol on the finish, and the balance and refreshment value is most impressive."