Cheval des Andes Cheval des Andes 2019 750ml

This is the greatest Cheval des Andes ever. Discrete aromas of blackberries, flowers, stone and licorice. So perfumed. The integration of fruit, tannins and acidity is fantastic. Full-bodied, tight and solid with beautiful depth and integrity. Extremely long and exciting. Complex and compelling with such refinement and length. A blend of 62% malbec and 38% cabernet sauvignon. Available in September 2020. Better after 2024.

The 2022 Cheval des Andes is a significant upgrade to Mendoza’s historic regional blends, combining grapes from Las Compuertas (Luján de Cuyo) and Paraje Altamira (Uco Valley). The 2022 vintage allowed for a slower ripening of Cabernet Sauvignon, which take prominence in this blend alongside 30% Malbec and 5% Petit Verdot. Aging was carried out in 40% 225-liter Bordeaux barrels, 35% 400-liter barrels and 25% 2,500-liter foudres, with 50% new oak. A bouquet of bright fruit—raspberry, blueberry and delicate cassis—and complementary bay leaf and mint tones give way to a touch of ash and mild bell pepper. Boasting serious concentration, fine tannins and a slight creaminess, the 2022 has a structure that is firm but never tight, maintaining weight without losing balance. The finish is long, energetic and full of flavor. This is an exceptionally beautiful wine.

The 2019 Cheval des Andes has a more reductive vinification and élevage, making the wine a bit shy and in need of time to open up, as one of their objectives was to make it more age-worthy. Another objective is to get to a 50/50 blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, which they achieved in this vintage for the first time, going back to the initial character of the wine, which was the idea of Argentinean winemaker Roberto de la Mota; so, they are closing the circle and going back to the initial idea, with more suggestions from the Cheval Blanc team. This is the first vintage fully under the charge of the new French winemaker, Gerald Gabillet, who fermented by plot, isolating some specific parts of the vineyard, like the borders where you tend to get higher yields because of the irrigation. It matured in 225- and 400-liter oak barrels and in oak vats. They used more barrels and vats from Stockinger, which they like and rotate; the wine spends an average of 13 to 14 months in oak, but some lots get 11 months and others get 16. 2019 was a mild vintage, cooler than 2017 and warmer than 2018, with rain at the right time, which helped to avoid hydric stress, and without extremes (which they had in 2020 with three weeks of extreme heat). The wine is young and tender and a bit oaky, which Gabillet attributed to the reductiveness; it’s ripe without excess, with around 14.2% alcohol, mellow acidity and velvety tannins. There’s more Cabernet here, so the aromatic expression can be something between 2017 and 2018, but Cabernet marks the palate a lot and makes the wine more age-worthy, as it provides the structure and length that the Malbec lacks. So, the wine might be less accessible when young and should develop slowly in bottle. It’s tasty and supple and has the ingredients and the balance for what they are aiming for. In the following vintages, they follow this path, and Gabillet feels that having more precision allows the wines to reflect the differences between vintages better. They produce around 100,000 bottles. It was bottled in late January 2021. The way they want to describe the wine is the Argentinean expression of Cheval Blanc. And I can only agree. (Luis Gutiérrez)

The 2019 Cheval des Andes is a 50/50 blend of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon from Las Compuertas and Paraje Altamira, Mendoza. The 2019 was 40% aged in 225-liter barrels, 40% in 500-liter barrels and 20% in foudres. It’s red with violet flecks in the glass. It has a fresh nose of plum and blackcurrant accompanied by hints of white pepper, mint and violets over a bed of cedar and sandalwood. On the palate, the feel is finely grained with a leaner, more agile flow than in previous years, while the freshness brings plenty of energy before the lengthy finish of fruit and country herb aromas. (Joaquín Hidalgo)

A refined but spicy Cheval, showing charcoal, blueberries, wild herbs, lavender and hints of bacon and cedar. Medium to full body with extremely fine tannins that get dialed into the fruit with violet, spices and sweet blue fruit at the end. Long and subtle. Drink or hold.

In the last few years, a handful of wines from Chile and Argentina — often French owned — have been released in September through the Place de Bordeaux, the network of négociants that sell most of the Bordeaux wines and some of the leading wines from other regions. The 2017 Cheval des Andes is one such wine. 2017 saw an early harvest, but they started picking on the 6th of March and continued until the 10th of April, more or less normal dates, early but not so much. The varietal break down this vintage comes to 62% Malbec and 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the wine is slightly riper and higher in alcohol than 2016 (this 2017 is 14.2% alcohol). The different plots fermented separately with selected yeasts, and the élevage lasted for 15 months and was in 50/50 new and second use barrels, 90% of them French and the rest made with wood from Eastern Europe. They used 45% Bordeaux barrels, 45% 400-liter barrels and, for the first time, a 2,500-liter oak foudre. This is clearly the darkest of the trio of vintages I tasted together here — 2015, 2016 and 2017 — but all three have the elegant and powerful profile, the luxurious and creamy character found in the best Bordeaux wines in the last few years, wines of power with precision, concentration, energy and finesse. This seems to combine the clout of the 2015 and the freshness of the 2016 and feels something in between those two vintages. Their work in the vineyard toward the maturity of the tannins meant the challenge in 2017 was to not let the grapes ripen too fast and too early. The work is different for Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, to get round tannins in Cabernet and get some tension in Malbec, the contrary of the normal tendency of the varieties. 2017 has less ripeness than the 2015 but more density than the 2016. The texture is velvety, precise and harmonious. This year, they introduced a larger foudre for 10% of the wine, with the aim to reach 20%, so that volume is increasing every year. I think this is showing more precision, and in a more challenging year, they managed to keep the quality on par with 2016. They have changed the label this year, to a cleaner and more elegant label that also reflects the direction the wine is going in. 81,500 bottles produced. It was bottled in January 2019.

Soon to be released through La Place de Bordeaux, the 2022 Cheval des Andes opens with an exotic, spice-driven bouquet, supplemented by lifted herbal notes and a vibrantly red-fruited and perfumed backdrop. The palate is similarly energetic, melding an elegantly rich, polished texture with a slender, tensile energy. It concludes with a long, persistent and high-toned finish that gradually unfurls a sturdy structure of supremely refined tannins. This is an excellent counterpoint to the comparatively darker and more open-knit 2021, showcasing a brighter, more tenacious profile while sacrificing none of the grace, nuance and textural attention to detail that has come to define Cheval des Andes. It's a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Malbec and 5% Petit Verdot.

The seventeenth vintage of Cheval des Andes, a wine that has undergone a model transformation. I recently tried the 2007, and it’s fascinating to trace the different stages of its evolution, all of which say something about the contemporary history of Argentine wine. To sum up, it started out with a French love of concentration and ripeness and ended up with an equally French love of equilibrium and local terroir. The 2017 is a new beginning in itself. A blend of Malbec with 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, it presents a bold nose of fresh fruit such as sweet and sour cherry with fleshy aromas and a touch of white pepper over a bold, woody backdrop. A fluid wine, slightly taut on the palate with medium structure, a delicate feel and active tannins well integrated into the terse texture, overall it is nuanced and full of flavor. Possesses a balance that respects the concentration of the vintage without ever letting it get out of hand. An Argentine wine made with more than a nod to French expertise. (Joaquín Hidalgo)

A bold and structured red, with aromas of smoke and graphite leading to rich, concentrated tiers of blackberry, cassis and plum. Beneath the muscle is ample fresh acidity, carrying abundant violet and spice nuances toward the lengthy finish, which reveals fine tannins. Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2034. 8,500 cases made, 2,975 cases imported. (Aaron Romano)

Elegant and well-structured, with intense coffee bean notes to the dried red currant and dark plum flavors. Minerally in the midpalate, with a long finish that features medium-grained tannins and is rich with savory spice and dried green herbal notes. Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2027. 5,400 cases made, 2,250 cases imported. (Kim Marcus)