Terrazas de los Andes / Château Cheval Blanc Cheval Blanc

The 2016 Cheval Blanc is a blend of 59.5% Merlot, 37.2% Cabernet Franc, and 3.3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, the nose is incredibly youthful yet not as shy as some other 2016s at this stage, offering wonderfully intense scents of red currants, black cherries, wild blueberries, and violets, with nuances of star anise, cinnamon stick, rose hip tea, cigar box, wood smoke, and a touch of beef drippings. Medium to full-bodied, the palate displays jaw-dropping elegance and depth, presenting layers of fragrant red and black fruits along with an extraordinary array of mineral sparks, supported by a rock-solid grainy texture, and finishing with epic persistence and an edifying perfume. This is a very different style from the rich, opulently hedonic 2015, yet this wonderfully fragrant, beautifully poised, and intellectually compelling 2016 is equally extraordinary.