The vineyard is located in the Saint-Émilion area (Bordeaux) directly on the border with Pomerol. Its origins date back to the mid-18th century. In 1832, Monsieur Ducasse bought the estate and renovated the vineyards. His son-in-law Jean Laussac-Fourcaud (later Fourcaud-Laussac) took over the management in 1852. He acquired 15 hectares of vineyards from Château Figeac and some neighbouring estates. The current state of the estate dates back to 1871. The red wine won medals at the world exhibitions in London in 1862, Paris in 1867 and Antwerp in 1885, which are depicted on the label. In 1927, the "Société Civile du Cheval-Blanc" was founded and the estate remained in family ownership until 1998.
Pierre Lurton was appointed manager in 1991. In 1998, the estate was bought by Belgian Albert Frére and Bernard Arnault, chairman of the board of the luxury goods group LVMH. The undisclosed price was estimated at one billion francs. In August 2009, LVMH acquired a 50% stake by purchasing Arnault's shares. In 2023, Pierre Lurton was appointed Chairman of the Supervisory Board and handed over the management to the previous Technical Director Pierre-Olivier Clouet. His responsibilities included the implementation of sustainability practices, agroecology and agroforestry.
Saint-Émilion - Bordeaux/France
The winery has been rated at the highest level Premier Grand Cru Classé A in all classifications up to 2012 (some even place it above this). It has the same reputation in Saint-Émilion as Château Mouton-Rothschild in the Médoc. In 2022, the estate announced that it would no longer apply for the Saint-Émilion classification. The vineyards cover 37 hectares and are planted with Cabernet Franc (60%), Merlot (37%), Malbec = Cot (2%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (1%). As a novelty for the region, the red wine is made with a high proportion of Cabernet Franc. Due to the iron-rich gravel and sandy soil on clay, this variety reaches a level of ripeness unrivalled anywhere else in Bordeaux.
The extremely long-lived wine matures for 20 months in 100% new barriques. Outstanding vintages with sometimes astronomical prices are 1921, 1947, 1982, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1998 and 1999. A 6-litre bottle (Impériale) of Château Cheval Blanc vintage 1947 was acquired by a private collector from Geneva (Switzerland) for € 219,000. This makes it one of the most expensive wines in the world. There was no first wine in the frost year 1991. The second wine is called "Le Petit Cheval". Incidentally, in the film "Never Say Never Again", James Bond (Sean Connery) enjoys a Château Cheval Blanc of an unknown vintage.
Since 2022, the Château La Tour-du-Pin-Figeac, also located in Saint-Émilion in the neighbourhood, has also been part of the estate.
Cheval des Andes - Mendoza/Argentina
In 1999, on the initiative of Pierre Lurton, a joint venture was concluded with the Argentinian vineyard "Terrazas de los Andes" in the wine-growing region of Mendoza. During a visit, he was particularly impressed by the "Las Compuertas" vineyard with its ungrafted old Malbec vines planted in 1929. Las Compuertas means "the sluices" in Spanish and refers to the special water supply. The unique irrigation method was originally developed by the Incas. Pure water from the snowmelt in the Andes flows down the rivers and is channelled into small ditches that run along the rows of vines. This also enables the cultivation of ungrafted vines, as pests such as phylloxera are eliminated by drowning. Today, a modern drip irrigation system is used.
The vineyards cover a total of 50 hectares of vines. Las Compuertas is situated on gentle slopes at 1,070 metres above sea level on deep, loamy soils of sand, limestone and clay. There is a special microclimate with relatively low rainfall. The altitude results in a cooler climate with high daily temperature fluctuations. Cheval des Andes" is a long-lasting red wine blended from 50 to 70% Malbec (Cot) and 30% to 50% Cabernet Sauvignon in the Bordeaux style. This is matured in barriques and partly in large oak barrels (440 litres and 2,500 litres) for 13 to 16 months.
Image: By Benjamin Zingg, Switzerland - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, Link
