James Suckling
This is the greatest Cheval des Andes ever. Discrete aromas of blackberries, flowers, stone and licorice. So perfumed. The integration of fruit, tannins and acidity is fantastic. Full-bodied, tight and solid with beautiful depth and integrity. Extremely long and exciting. Complex and compelling with such refinement and length. A blend of 62% malbec and 38% cabernet sauvignon. Available in September 2020. Better after 2024.
Wine Advocate
In the last few years, a handful of wines from Chile and Argentina—often French owned—have been released in September through the Place de Bordeaux, the network of négociants that sell most of the Bordeaux wines and some of the leading wines from other regions. The 2017 Cheval des Andes is one such wine. 2017 saw an early harvest, but they started picking on the 6th of March and continued until the 10th of April, more or less normal dates, early but not so much. The varietal break down this vintage comes to 62% Malbec and 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the wine is slightly riper and higher in alcohol than 2016 (this 2017 is 14.2% alcohol). The different plots fermented separately with selected yeasts, and the élevage lasted for 15 months and was in 50/50 new and second use barrels, 90% of them French and the rest made with wood from Eastern Europe. They used 45% Bordeaux barrels, 45% 400-liter barrels and, for the first time, a 2,500-liter oak foudre. This is clearly the darkest of the trio of vintages I tasted together here—2015, 2016 and 2017—but all three have the elegant and powerful profile, the luxurious and creamy character found in the best Bordeaux wines in the last few years, wines of power with precision, concentration, energy and finesse. This seems to combine the clout of the 2015 and the freshness of the 2016 and feels something in between those two vintages. Their work in the vineyard toward the maturity of the tannins meant the challenge in 2017 was to not let the grapes ripen too fast and too early. The work is different for Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, to get round tannins in Cabernet and get some tension in Malbec, the contrary of the normal tendency of the varieties. 2017 has less ripeness than the 2015 but more density than the 2016. The texture is velvety, precise and harmonious. This year, they introduced a larger foudre for 10% of the wine, with the aim to reach 20%, so that volume is increasing every year. I think this is showing more precision, and in a more challenging year, they managed to keep the quality on par with 2016. They have changed the label this year, to a cleaner and more elegant label that also reflects the direction the wine is going in. 81,500 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2019.
Verantwortlicher Lebensmittelunternehmer:
DIVA Bordeaux, 34 Quai de Bacalan, 33300 Bordeaux, Frankreich/France
Weitere Informationen über das Weingut Cheval des Andes
Die Inspiration für Cheval des Andes war der Traum des Gründers Pierre Lurton, den ursprünglichen Malbec-Rebsorten von Bordeaux nach Argentinien zu folgen. Vor Jahren war Malbec in Bordeaux weit verbreitet und wurde Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts nach Argentinien gebracht, nur Jahrzehnte bevor die Rebsorte in Frankreich durch eine Reblausepidemie dezimiert wurde. Heute hat der einzige Malbec in Bordeaux Wurzeln gepfropft, die ihn widerstandsfähiger machen, aber auch seine Qualität verändern. Die Reben, die vor über einem Jahrhundert in die Neue Welt reisten, sind ungepfropft.
Als Pierre Lurton den atemberaubenden Malbec-Weinberg Las Compuertas entdeckte, der 1929 in Mendoza gepflanzt wurde, war er sofort begeistert und erklärte: „Dies wird eine Reise zu den Wurzeln von Bordeaux sein.“ Er wollte die Bordeaux-Weine von gestern wieder zum Leben erwecken und das Château Cheval Blanc wieder mit der Geschichte von Saint-Emilion verbinden. 1999 gründete Château Cheval Blanc ein Joint Venture mit Terrazas de Los Andes und Cheval des Andes wurde geboren. Seitdem ist eine Mischung im Bordeaux-Stil, die überwiegend aus Malbec besteht, das Markenzeichen von Cheval des Andes.