Cheval des Andes 2020, crafted by the teams of Cheval Blanc and Terrazas de los Andes, blends 49% Malbec, 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% Petit Verdot from high-altitude Mendoza vineyards. Ripe yet fresh, it shows dark cherry, cassis, spice, and floral notes with silky, polished tannins and a long, elegant finish. Full-bodied and vibrant, it’s a benchmark “Grand Cru of the Andes” with superb balance and aging potential.

The Wine Advocate | RP 98
Published: Aug 31, 2023
Drink: 2024-2034

The 2020 Cheval des Andes was harvested from the last of February for the first time ever. It was Gabillet's second vintage at Cheval des Andes, and that year, he had to start without waiting for Pierre Olivier Clouet and Pierre Lurton from Cheval Blanc; when they arrived, they had finished picking the Malbec, which surprisingly was fresher in Las Compuertas (because of the higher percentage of clay?) than in Altamira (where the vines suffered more stress), saving the freshness. They now harvest using cold trucks (for the first time), and they also started earlier in the morning (six in the morning, impossible earlier in Mendoza...), which he reckons was very good for the precision of the wine. They used 40% 225-liter barrels, 40% 400-liter oak barrels and 20% 2,500-liter foudres, half of them new and with an élevage of 15 months on average, depending on the lots and varieties from 12 to 18 months. The final blend was 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot, which makes a comeback, as it had not been used since 2016. The key was to finish the fermentation of the Petit Verdot without skins, and that way, they have been able to use it in the blends of 2021, 2022 and 2023 in small but increasing percentages.

This is slightly riper than 2019, with a little more alcohol (14.5%) and with very good structural tannins but saving the freshness, and it has the spicy side from the Petit Verdot (Gabillet talks about white pepper). The wine has the ultra sleek and polished texture and the elegance and the balance that is the signature here; the wine is very clean and precise. I see very good regularity across the three vintages I tasted next to each other—this 2020 and the 2018 and 2019. Overall, this is a triumph over the adverse conditions of the vintage. They produced their usual 100,000 bottles (since 2018), as they are renewing their vineyards and want to keep the volume stable. They produce this volume from the 36 productive hectares they have in Las Compuertas and Altamira.

There are some more changes: in 2020, they went for a lighter bottle, weighing 100 grams less than the one they used in 2018 and 2019 but close to 300 grams less than the bottle from before. It's also a slimmer bottle, always thinking about the environment. They are very focused on agroecology, accelerating the regenerative viticulture and using cover crops; they have planted 1,900 trees in the last three years, creating small clusters of biodiversity for birds. They have transplanted some centenary olive trees and keep their sheep and lamas on the property. Very green-minded.

Jamessuckling.com | JS 97
Published: May 4, 2023

Ripe, baked dark cherries with spices and some violets. Hints of graphite, cocoa powder, incense and black pepper. Dried rose petals. A slightly fuller Cheval des Andes with tense, silky tannins and a lingering, generous finish. Ripe, but still has lots of restraint and precision. 49% malbec, 49% cabernet sauvignon with a 2% petit verdot. 24% of the malbec comes from Altamira and all the rest of the fruit come from Las Compuertas. Drink or hold.

Decanter | D 92
Published: Nov 2, 2023
Drink: 2024-2040

Sweet-fruited, blackberry nose, lots of spirit-spiked Christmas cake booziness. Swish tannins, juicy and full-bodied, very opulent and undeniably impressive. Nominated by Alejandro Iglesias.
Closure: Cork
Body: Full
Oak: Oaked
Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec

Jancisrobinson.com | JR 17+
Published: Sep 7, 2023

49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot. Harvest 28 February to 17 March. 2020 was a warm and dry vintage. Ageing in 225-litre barriques (40%), 400-litre barrels (40%) and 2,500-litre foudre (20%), 50% new oak, 85% French (remainder Austrian, Slovenian and German). pH 3.83. Bottled 10 February 2022.
The riper, darker fruit on the nose denotes the hotter vintage in 2020. Though ripe, there is no sense of jamminess in the wine, a real improvement noticeable in recent years here. The palate too has the cashmere texture and vibrant acidity of a team working hard to shift from a thicker, riper style to one of balance and vibrancy. Cassis and dark cherry are met with notes of blood orange and violet. Chalky and deep, this should age well in bottle. 

Chevaldesandes.com 

A ‘Grand Cru’ from Argentina’, Cheval des Andes was born from the meeting of two cultures. It combines the vision and expertise of Château Cheval Blanc with high altitude viticulture in the Mendoza region where Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon grow in challenging conditions in the foothills of the Andes mountains.

Climatic conditions
The 2020 harvest was a warm and dry vintage until mid-March.
At the beginning of the season, the spring months had moderate temperatures and low humidity. The summer, on the other hand, stood out for its high temperatures, mainly between the months of November and February, with a heat wave that took place from the last week of February until mid-March, where the average maximum temperatures were 33 degrees Celsius.

Tasting notes
Intense, deep and shiny, velvety red colour. Generous and expressive on the nose, with ripe red fruits such as cherries, plums and cassis combined with hints of spices, black pepper and violets. On the palate, starts out sumptuously rich and full-bodied. The powerful and refined tannins contribute to the structure of this wine. The finish marks a return to red and stony fruits aromas with spicy overtones. Cheval des Andes 2020, born in a historic warm vintage in Mendoza keeps its oneness freshness, elegance and aging potential.

Blend: Malbec  49 % Cabernet Sauvignon  49 % Petit Verdot 2%