The 2005 Château Cheval Blanc is a stunning wine, receiving top accolades for its elegance and precision. A blend of 49% Cabernet Franc and 51% Merlot, it presents an intense, deep bluish-ruby color and offers aromas of ripe black fruits like raspberry and blueberry, along with floral notes. The wine is full-bodied but incredibly light on its feet, with remarkable freshness and purity. It has a multi-layered texture and smooth, sweet tannins that contribute to its excellent balance. With exceptional length and a complex finish, this wine showcases the best of the 2005 vintage. Drinkable now, but with a promise of great aging potential for the next 20 years.

The Wine Advocate | RP 100
Published: Jun 29, 2015
Drink: 2015-2035

The 2005 from Cheval Blanc is a quintessentially elegant, beautiful, deep bluish/ruby-colored wine from St.-Emilion, with raspberry, blueberry, and floral notes, impressive density, great precision, freshness and purity. Full-bodied, but extremely light on its feet, I don’t mean to gush, but it is super-intense, rich and just so meticulously crafted! This is another fabulous wine and a perfect expression for this vintage. It is difficult to forget the gorgeous blueberry and raspberry fruit, full body, sweet tannin, a multi-layered texture, and purity and palate presence of this stunning wine. Drink it over the next 20 years. P.S. In 2005, this was 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Merlot.

Jamessuckling.com | JS 98
Published: Nov 17, 2015

Always a fabulous nose of black fruit, dark chocolate, nuts and spices. It's full-bodied with beautifully dense tannins reminiscent of cashmere. A long, long finish rounds out this beautiful wine. It would be better to leave it alone until 2020 but so hard not to revel in its splendor now.

Decanter | D 97
Published: Nov 25, 2019
Drink: 2019-2030

Subtle, complex, alluring aromatics. The palate is exceptionally smooth, ripe and intense with blackcurrant fruit, full and fleshy, lifted with freshness and with very fine tannin running through. Glorious! A very dry year, warm but without 2003’s heatwave, creating small berries, with a concentration of tannin, acid, colour delivering. 57% of the wine went into the Grand Vin, 26% Le Petit Cheval and 17% the 3ème vin.

Closure: Cork
Alcohol: 14.00%
Body: Medium
Oak: Oaked
Grapes: 49% Cabernet Franc 51% Merlot

Jancisrobinson.com | JR 17
Published: Aug 15, 2018
Drink: 2015-2025

Subtle but open-knit earth and blood on the nose with very fine tannic weave on the palate but a surprising paucity of fruit; especially after tasting the 2009s. The structure seems more intact than the primary fruit character. And the finish is a little hot too. Not the most convincing example, and not as promising a prospect for ageing, bearing in mind the modest fruit character. 

Chateau-cheval-blanc.com

Since it won its first medal, still featured on its labels, at the Universal Exhibition of London in 1862, Château Cheval Blanc has maintained its place as one of the world’s greatest wines. Its grace, alchemy and elegance are the incarnation of refined French culture, of unparalleled quality.

Château Cheval Blanc has been situated in the commune of Saint-Emilion for 200 years. It covers 39.5 hectares divided into 55 plots, each of which is different and unique. Each plot has its own characteristics according to its age, size and, in particular, its soil and grape variety. Each plot is vinified separately so that it can express its individuality fully before blending and so that it can contribute to the overall coherence of each vintage.

Château Cheval Blanc has always been managed with longevity in mind: all the particularities of this legendary Bordeaux have been preserved throughout the years – its terroir, grape varieties and style – whilst its qualities continue to become more refined and assertive.  Thanks to the mineral and vegetal heritage and increasingly rigorous know-how, Château Cheval Blanc has made a place for itself on the most prestigious tables across the globe for over a century and a half.

2005 TASTING NOTE
This warm year with record dry weather was as favourable to Merlot as it was to Cabernet Franc. This immense wine is elegant and powerful, with a beautiful tannic texture and great length. It will long leave its stamp on the history of Château Cheval Blanc.

Dark, crushed ripe red colour, deep hue with purple tints.
Complex, rich nose with ripe black fruits notes.
Dense wine with great richness. Concentrated black fruit. Powerful, but well-balanced and racy. A great volume on the palate, ample finish with the class of a great vintage. Exceptional length.

Blending: Cabernet Franc  49 % Merlot  51 %