As one of the top estates of Bordeaux, Cheval Blanc connotes the heights of luxury in the world of fine wine. While that hasn't changed over the past decades, the landscape of wine has! Thanks to pioneers who spread the vine to new lands like Argentina, we have new wines like the Cheval des Andes, literally named the "Cheval Blanc of the Andes." Savvy connoisseurs have been quick to recognize the world-class quality you find here for the price!
This potential for exploring new styles is what drew the head of Chateau Cheval Blanc, Pierre Lurton, to the foot of the Andes Mountains of Argentina. The thread of connection to Bordeaux was clear: the Malbec that had faded into the background in French vineyards had found a thriving existence along with the immigrants who had brought it. Working with the already-established Terrazes de los Andes winery, Pierre's team found harmony in the dueling characters of Cabernet Sauvignon's sleek, energetic flow and Malbec's generous core density, along with a dash of spicy-floral Petit Verdot from Cheval Blanc's own vineyards.
The magic of these high-altitude vineyards shines through in the 2020 Cheval des Andes, imbuing its rich and concentrated core with a mouthwatering juiciness and lift, all solidly framed by velvety, fruit-wrapped tannins. Sun-kissed qualities show in the aromas reminiscent of plummy preserves and baked black cherries, and well as fresher, brambly blackcurrant and floral notes (violet, rose), the cedar and mocha from barrel aging, along with hints of earthy tar and iron ore, savory herbal accent like bay leaf and blonde tobacco, finishing with a spicy flourish of white pepper, incense-spice and licorice root.
WINE ADVOCATE 98 POINTS - "The 2020 Cheval des Andes was harvested from the last of February for the first time ever. It was Gabillet's second vintage at Cheval des Andes, and that year, he had to start without waiting for Pierre Olivier Clouet and Pierre Lurton from Cheval Blanc; when they arrived, they had finished picking the Malbec, which surprisingly was fresher in Las Compuertas (because of the higher percentage of clay?) than in Altamira (where the vines suffered more stress), saving the freshness. They now harvest using cold trucks (for the first time), and they also started earlier in the morning (six in the morning, impossible earlier in Mendoza...), which he reckons was very good for the precision of the wine. They used 40% 225-liter barrels, 40% 400-liter oak barrels and 20% 2,500-liter foudres, half of them new and with an élevage of 15 months on average, depending on the lots and varieties from 12 to 18 months. The final blend was 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot, which makes a comeback, as it had not been used since 2016. The key was to finish the fermentation of the Petit Verdot without skins, and that way, they have been able to use it in the blends of 2021, 2022 and 2023 in small but increasing percentages.
This is slightly riper than 2019, with a little more alcohol (14.5%) and with very good structural tannins but saving the freshness, and it has the spicy side from the Petit Verdot (Gabillet talks about white pepper). The wine has the ultra sleek and polished texture and the elegance and the balance that is the signature here; the wine is very clean and precise. I see very good regularity across the three vintages I tasted next to each other—this 2020 and the 2018 and 2019. Overall, this is a triumph over the adverse conditions of the vintage. They produced their usual 100,000 bottles (since 2018), as they are renewing their vineyards and want to keep the volume stable. They produce this volume from the 36 productive hectares they have in Las Compuertas and Altamira.
There are some more changes: in 2020, they went for a lighter bottle, weighing 100 grams less than the one they used in 2018 and 2019 but close to 300 grams less than the bottle from before. It's also a slimmer bottle, always thinking about the environment. They are very focused on agroecology, accelerating the regenerative viticulture and using cover crops; they have planted 1,900 trees in the last three years, creating small clusters of biodiversity for birds. They have transplanted some centenary olive trees and keep their sheep and lamas on the property. Very green-minded."
This potential for exploring new styles is what drew the head of Chateau Cheval Blanc, Pierre Lurton, to the foot of the Andes Mountains of Argentina. The thread of connection to Bordeaux was clear: the Malbec that had faded into the background in French vineyards had found a thriving existence along with the immigrants who had brought it. Working with the already-established Terrazes de los Andes winery, Pierre's team found harmony in the dueling characters of Cabernet Sauvignon's sleek, energetic flow and Malbec's generous core density, along with a dash of spicy-floral Petit Verdot from Cheval Blanc's own vineyards.
The magic of these high-altitude vineyards shines through in the 2020 Cheval des Andes, imbuing its rich and concentrated core with a mouthwatering juiciness and lift, all solidly framed by velvety, fruit-wrapped tannins. Sun-kissed qualities show in the aromas reminiscent of plummy preserves and baked black cherries, and well as fresher, brambly blackcurrant and floral notes (violet, rose), the cedar and mocha from barrel aging, along with hints of earthy tar and iron ore, savory herbal accent like bay leaf and blonde tobacco, finishing with a spicy flourish of white pepper, incense-spice and licorice root.
WINE ADVOCATE 98 POINTS - "The 2020 Cheval des Andes was harvested from the last of February for the first time ever. It was Gabillet's second vintage at Cheval des Andes, and that year, he had to start without waiting for Pierre Olivier Clouet and Pierre Lurton from Cheval Blanc; when they arrived, they had finished picking the Malbec, which surprisingly was fresher in Las Compuertas (because of the higher percentage of clay?) than in Altamira (where the vines suffered more stress), saving the freshness. They now harvest using cold trucks (for the first time), and they also started earlier in the morning (six in the morning, impossible earlier in Mendoza...), which he reckons was very good for the precision of the wine. They used 40% 225-liter barrels, 40% 400-liter oak barrels and 20% 2,500-liter foudres, half of them new and with an élevage of 15 months on average, depending on the lots and varieties from 12 to 18 months. The final blend was 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot, which makes a comeback, as it had not been used since 2016. The key was to finish the fermentation of the Petit Verdot without skins, and that way, they have been able to use it in the blends of 2021, 2022 and 2023 in small but increasing percentages.
This is slightly riper than 2019, with a little more alcohol (14.5%) and with very good structural tannins but saving the freshness, and it has the spicy side from the Petit Verdot (Gabillet talks about white pepper). The wine has the ultra sleek and polished texture and the elegance and the balance that is the signature here; the wine is very clean and precise. I see very good regularity across the three vintages I tasted next to each other—this 2020 and the 2018 and 2019. Overall, this is a triumph over the adverse conditions of the vintage. They produced their usual 100,000 bottles (since 2018), as they are renewing their vineyards and want to keep the volume stable. They produce this volume from the 36 productive hectares they have in Las Compuertas and Altamira.
There are some more changes: in 2020, they went for a lighter bottle, weighing 100 grams less than the one they used in 2018 and 2019 but close to 300 grams less than the bottle from before. It's also a slimmer bottle, always thinking about the environment. They are very focused on agroecology, accelerating the regenerative viticulture and using cover crops; they have planted 1,900 trees in the last three years, creating small clusters of biodiversity for birds. They have transplanted some centenary olive trees and keep their sheep and lamas on the property. Very green-minded."
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