1er Grand Cru Classe A 2014
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Rated 97/100 by Wine Spectator (top 4% of their reviews).
From our sommelier team
A historic Saint-Émilion estate on the Pomerol border, unusual on the Right Bank for its Cabernet Franc-heavy vineyard (planted roughly 52% Cabernet Franc, 43% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon), though the finished blend's actual grape balance shifts by vintage, one of only two Premier Grand Cru Classé A estates named in the original 1955 classification.
Cheval Blanc sits at the edge of Saint-Émilion directly bordering Pomerol, on a distinctive gravelly-clay terroir that historically produces wines of unusual power and perfume for the appellation. Its defining feature is grape composition: where most Right Bank estates lean heavily on Merlot, Cheval Blanc's vineyard is planted with an unusually high share of Cabernet Franc (around 52% to Merlot's 43% and a small share of Cabernet Sauvignon) — though the finished wine's actual blend varies by vintage and is not always Cabernet Franc-majority in the bottle (the 2022, for instance, was Merlot-majority) — giving the wine a more perfumed, structured, and age-worthy profile than a typical Pomerol-style Merlot wine. The estate was one of only two properties (alongside Château Ausone) awarded Premier Grand Cru Classé A status when the Saint-Émilion classification was first published in 1955, a distinction it held through the 2022 vintage before withdrawing from the 2022 reclassification process rather than being reclassified alongside newly promoted estates. Under estate manager Pierre Lurton since the late 1990s, the wine has continued in its historic style: dense fruit, tobacco and graphite complexity, and firm but polished tannins built for long cellaring.
Producer history
The estate was formed in 1832 when Jean-Jacques Ducasse, president of the Libourne Court of Appeals, purchased vineyard parcels split from the neighboring Château Figeac; the property took real shape under his son-in-law Jean Laussac-Fourcaud, and adopted the Cheval Blanc name in 1852. It won recognition at the London and Paris exhibitions of the 1860s and was named Premier Grand Cru Classé A in the inaugural 1955 Saint-Émilion classification, a status it retained for over six decades. In 1998, the château was sold to Bernard Arnault (chairman of LVMH) and Belgian businessman Albert Frère, with Pierre Lurton installed as estate director — a role he has held for over two decades, overseeing continuity of the estate's style through the change in ownership. In early 2022, the estate chose to withdraw from the next Saint-Émilion classification cycle rather than be reclassified.
Signature pairings
- Roast rack of venison with juniper — The wine's Cabernet Franc-driven perfume (tobacco, graphite, dark berry) pairs classically with game meats, where the wine's structure and savory complexity have room to show.
- Aged Comté or Gruyère — A firm, nutty aged cheese matches the wine's own graphite and savory tones without the acid clash that softer, younger cheeses can cause with tannic reds.
When Jean Laussac-Fourcaud replanted the estate in the 1860s with Cabernet Franc as the structural backbone — a choice considered audacious on a Right Bank dominated by Merlot — he set Cheval Blanc on a trajectory no peer has since replicated. That decision remains the defining transgression of the appellation. The 42-hectare vineyard sits on quaternary alluvium deposited by the Isle river at Saint-Émilion's north-western boundary with Pomerol — non-calcareous soils entirely unlike the limestone plateau typical of the appellation. Three distinct soil profiles coexist: ~40% gravel over deep blue clay (home to the oldest Cabernet Franc vines, some planted 1920), ~40% deep gravel, and ~20% sandy clay, producing a wine that simultaneously carries Pomerol's plush depth, Graves-like mineral tension, and Saint-Émilion's structural finesse. Each of the 56 plots is vinified separately in temperature-controlled concrete vats sized to individual plot tonnage, filled by gravity to two-thirds capacity; malolactic fermentation occurs in tank before 15–35 parcels are assembled by tasting alone — no prescriptive varietal ratio. The Grand Vin then ages 16–18 months in 100% new French oak (225 L barriques from 180–350-year-old Tronçais and Bercé trees), racked manually 5–7 times under nitrogen. The 2014 vintage — no blend percentages confirmed in primary sources — represents a season of precision and freshness on the Right Bank, drinking well now through the mid-2030s and beyond.
Details
- Country
- France
- Region
- Bordeaux
- Subregion
- Saint-Émilion
- Variety
- Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot
- Vintage
- 2014
- Bottle size
- 750 ml
Taste profile
- Body
- Full
- Acidity
- Medium-High
- Tannin
- Medium
Pairs well with
- Lamb dishes
- Duck & game birds
- Hard & aged cheese
- Cured meats & charcuterie
- Braised & slow-cooked meat
Sommelier’s pick: Roasted rack of lamb with black truffle jus · Duck breast à l'orange with wild mushroom fricassée · Beef tenderloin with bone marrow and shallot confit
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