The iconic Right Bank estate known for using a hefty portion of Cabernet Franc with their Merlot is also a movie star. Twenty years ago, it made a memorable appearance in the film Sideways, in which spirited Merlot-hater, Miles Raymond, ironically drinks a 1961 Cheval Blanc at the end, at a fast-food restaurant out of a Styrofoam cup. Funny sidenote, Paul Giamatti who plays Miles, his mom was my 10th grade English teacher. She taught Shakespeare. She was boisterous like Macbeth and typically entered our 8:18am class at 8:28am, running on cigarette fumes, lovably poking fun at her sons, “Paul and Marcus,” who were “Trying to be actors in LA,” then a roll of her narrow green eyes.   

Named after Henri the IV’s white horse, Cheval Blanc’s complicated terroir lives in the outer limits of the Saint-Émilion appellation, a stone’s throw away from Pomerol. Located at the base of a limestone plateau there is strangely, no limestone at Cheval. Instead, it’s a patchwork of gravel, clay, and sand, 53 unique plots with ten different soil types, planted almost equally to Cabernet Franc and Merlot, which is its “secret sauce.” Formerly bearing the highest classification, “Premier Cru A,” Cheval Blanc, along with Château Ausone, made a bold decision to withdraw their status in 2022, noting that the philosophy of the classification had changed, currently considering more value in market placement, PR, social media, and wine tourism, than the original building blocks of terroir and viticulture.  

A true visionary, Cheval’s legendary director, Pierre Lurton (now chairman of the board) has passed his operational duties onto his longtime technical director, Pierre-Olivier Clouet. Achieving four perfect 100-point scores from the world’s most esteemed critics, Pierre’s commentary on the 2010, says it best, “Liquid cashmere.” Recommended to hold and age thirty to forty years, there’s no fault in eagerness and popping the cork now, for the occasion is Cheval Blanc, Styrofoam not encouraged. ~Allegra A