Chateau Cheval Blanc Saint Emilion 2008

Bright red-ruby. Brooding aromas and flavors of licorice, cherry pit, bitter chocolate and black cardamom. Lush and sweet in the mouth but with terrific definition and grip. This very young wine is most impressive on the vibrant, mounting, palate-saturating aftertaste, which features fine-grained tannins, solid structure and lovely spicy perfume. Wonderfully aristocratic wine whose outstanding energy should ensure a long and graceful evolution in bottle.

The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin though I discerned a patina of oak dragging its heels, waiting to be subsumed. There is great concentration and yet conversely it feels bright and fresh; with aeration evermore nimble and sprightly. Towards the finish there are subtle hints of bay leaf and cedar, the Cabernet Franc taking over the steering wheel from the Merlot.