Petit Cheval 2006 750ml

Wine Advocate, 30th May 2016
Tasted at Bordeaux Index's annual 10-Year On tasting in London. The 2006 Le Petit Cheval has a fully mature, slight fungal bouquet with touches of wilted rose petal and burnt toast. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, still quite firm in the mouth considering its age, with tobacco-tinged red berry fruit and plenty of spice on the finish. The palate seems to have aged in better fashion than the nose. Drink over the next 4-6 years.

Chateau Le Petit Cheval is the second wine of the legendary First Growth (Premier Grand Cru Class) Chaeau Cheval Blanc (Castle of the White Horse). Cheval Blanc lies in the farthest corner of Saint Emilion bordering Pomerol. Chaeau Cheval Blanc came into being when land and vines were acquired from its neighbour Chateau Figeac by the Fourcaud Laussac family in 1832. Today Cheval Blanc is owned by Bernard Arnault (chairman of LVMH) and Albert Frure (also owners of Chateau d'Yquem) with Pierre Lurton as estate manager.
The 100 acre vineyard of Chateau Cheval Blanc is unusual in that it borders the stony plateau of Pomerol and takes on some of those qualities, it spans the gravel ridge which travels across to Chateau Figeac and also covers terroir typical of Saint Emilion. The grapes grown are also unusual as they are not the atypical Saint Emilion Merlot dominated vines. They are 57% Cabernet Franc, 40% Merlot and small parcels of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Meats, Beef and Venison