Very pretty licorice and mineral aromas. Hints of flowers. Medium- to full-bodied, with sweet and silky tannins. Lovely chocolate character. Racy and modern for Cheval-Blanc. Not the 1998, but very fine indeed. Seductive juice. Long and beautiful. Score range: 95-100
Drinking Window: 2017 - 2018
Review Date: 30th June 2004
This is very fresh and clean. Full bodied and juicy, with loads of fruit starting with strawberry jam and ending with baskets of fresh fruits. This is exotic and crisp, a truly fabulous 2003 with incredible finesse. Pull the cork on this one after 2014. Find the wine
Drinking Window: 2017 - 2018
Review Date: 15th March 2011
Bright ruby-red. Blackberry, bitter chocolate and shoe polish on the reticent nose; less floral today than the estate's second wine. Then tightly wound and backward but quite penetrating, with subtly sweet flavors of dark berries and bitter chocolate. Not yet especially nuanced in the mid-palate, but shows very good definition and verve and considerable class. Finishes subtle and long, with fine tannins and lingering, sweet suggestions of black fruits, licorice, violet and bitter chocolate. Interestingly, I find more density and breadth in the mouth today than is typical for young Cheval, but less inner-palate complexity; very often it's the other way around. This will be very interesting to follow.
Drinking Window: 2017 - 2018
Review Date: 1st May 2004
92-94 There have been more complete Cheval Blancs than this, but this 2003 does have power. Huge fruit, huge solid tannins, concentration - maybe some charm would create a better wine.
Drinking Window: 2017 - 2018
Review Date: 3rd June 2004
The harvest in 2003 was the earliest picking since 1893. There was even more coffee and chocolate in the nose, along with a touch of beef stew and hot earth and smoky aromas. The palate was ripe and forward, gamy and sweet, a bit of a floozy. It had 'light brick with lots of dark chocolate' flavors per Gil, and lots of liquid vitamins on its finish
Drinking Window: 2017 - 2018
The 2003 Cheval Blanc, a blend of 56% Cabernet Franc and 44% Merlot, reveals an exquisite bouquet of mulberries, forest floor, new saddle leather, spice box and spring flowers. The first-growth quality aromatics are followed by a complex medium-bodied wine with more density than anticipated. The wine seems fully mature although there is an unexpected freshness and underlying depth of fruit. This beauty should continue to drink well for another 7-8 years.
Drinking Window: 2014 - 2022
Reviewer Name: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Review Date: 28th August 2014
Le cru retrouve une proportion convenable de cabernet : moins imposant en corps et en texture qu'Ausone, il se montre très affiné, long, complexe et savoureux. Il part dans la vie davantage typé de son cru que le 2000.
Drinking Window: 2017 - 2018
Review Date: 1st January 2004
- Details
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- Year 2003
- Colour Red
- Country France
- Region Bordeaux
- Sub Region Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
- Designation
- Classification
- Pack Size 6x75cl
- ABV 13.5°
- Drinking Window 2017 - 2022
- Drinking Recommendation Drinking Now
- LWIN 100810820030600750
- Reviews (7)
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95-100 Wine Spectator
Very pretty licorice and mineral aromas. Hints of flowers. Medium- to full-bodied, with sweet and silky tannins. Lovely chocolate character. Racy and modern for Cheval-Blanc. Not the 1998, but very fine indeed. Seductive juice. Long and beautiful. Score range: 95-100
Drinking Window: 2017 - 2018
Review Date: 30th June 2004
96 James SucklingThis is very fresh and clean. Full bodied and juicy, with loads of fruit starting with strawberry jam and ending with baskets of fresh fruits. This is exotic and crisp, a truly fabulous 2003 with incredible finesse. Pull the cork on this one after 2014. Find the wine
Drinking Window: 2017 - 2018
Review Date: 15th March 2011
89-93 Stephen Tanzer - VinousBright ruby-red. Blackberry, bitter chocolate and shoe polish on the reticent nose; less floral today than the estate's second wine. Then tightly wound and backward but quite penetrating, with subtly sweet flavors of dark berries and bitter chocolate. Not yet especially nuanced in the mid-palate, but shows very good definition and verve and considerable class. Finishes subtle and long, with fine tannins and lingering, sweet suggestions of black fruits, licorice, violet and bitter chocolate. Interestingly, I find more density and breadth in the mouth today than is typical for young Cheval, but less inner-palate complexity; very often it's the other way around. This will be very interesting to follow.
Drinking Window: 2017 - 2018
Review Date: 1st May 2004
93 Wine Enthusiast92-94 There have been more complete Cheval Blancs than this, but this 2003 does have power. Huge fruit, huge solid tannins, concentration - maybe some charm would create a better wine.
Drinking Window: 2017 - 2018
Review Date: 3rd June 2004
92 Vintage TastingsThe harvest in 2003 was the earliest picking since 1893. There was even more coffee and chocolate in the nose, along with a touch of beef stew and hot earth and smoky aromas. The palate was ripe and forward, gamy and sweet, a bit of a floozy. It had 'light brick with lots of dark chocolate' flavors per Gil, and lots of liquid vitamins on its finish
Drinking Window: 2017 - 2018
92 Wine AdvocateThe 2003 Cheval Blanc, a blend of 56% Cabernet Franc and 44% Merlot, reveals an exquisite bouquet of mulberries, forest floor, new saddle leather, spice box and spring flowers. The first-growth quality aromatics are followed by a complex medium-bodied wine with more density than anticipated. The wine seems fully mature although there is an unexpected freshness and underlying depth of fruit. This beauty should continue to drink well for another 7-8 years.
Drinking Window: 2014 - 2022
Reviewer Name: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Review Date: 28th August 2014
90 LaRVFLe cru retrouve une proportion convenable de cabernet : moins imposant en corps et en texture qu'Ausone, il se montre très affiné, long, complexe et savoureux. Il part dans la vie davantage typé de son cru que le 2000.
Drinking Window: 2017 - 2018
Review Date: 1st January 2004
- Producer
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Chateau Cheval Blanc is one of the most famous in St. Emilion. The incredible state of the art winery is a UNESCO world heritage site which dwarfs the chateau, yet with subtlety and grace. The wine has a stunning purity, with a ripeness similar to its Pomerol neighbours; yet, it is unmistakably, can only ever be, the one and only, Cheval Blanc.
- Value Comparison
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Cheval Blanc
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