I thought my (wine pro) friend was joking when he said “pass by for NYE, I have wine to open but with someone who would appreciate it, vintage champagne, this and that, and a… 1961 Cheval Blanc.” That got my attention (!), so we found ourselves seeing out 2025 with some truly special stuff.
We started with a lovely Bollinger Grande Année 2014: floral, citrusy, mineral, before moving on to the main event – the Cheval Blanc.
He warned of the risk of disappointment given its age, but the fill level was promising (top shoulder) and when the very long cork had finally come out (in several pieces) with the use of prongs, the wine was decanted. We were surprised by how dark it was for a nearly 65-year old wine.
Dark red, nearly purple and no brickish rim to speak of. Tasting notes aren’t really my forte, so I’ve tried to combine my notes with his. I found it intensely smoky on the nose, dark fruits, highly aromatic and utterly captivating. He mentioned it initially being dusty but blowing off, cigar box, tobacco and umami.
We let it settle for few minutes before tasting. Incredibly young, I’ve had decades younger Bordeaux that tasted much older than this. The fruit is very much alive here and well stored bottles surely have years and years ahead of them. It’s drinking exceptionally now though. Sweet, medium/full-bodied, with resolved tannins, and a long, long finish. The next glass was even smoother, he mentioned dried red fruits and forest floor. A twinge of sadness hit when the bottle was finished – it’s not one I’ll likely ever taste again.
We followed it with a lovely white Pouilly Fuissé and more vintage champagne (Veuve Clicquot Grande Dame 1998) which strangely didn’t do it for me. I was probably still thinking of the Cheval Blanc!
Sorry for the ramble. All in all a very special tasting – very grateful to have experienced this unicorn!
by PitifulAd7600
10 Comments
Sounds like an unforgettable experience, and frankly significantly better than surreptitiously drinking it from a styrofoam cup in a mediocre burger bar.
Edit: that sticker has the Wine Society logo on it… When were TWS selling CB61?!?
Fantastic tasting notes from your friend, glad you got to enjoy some special sips to bring in the new year!
Excellent notes. What an experience! Wasn’t the 61 Chevalier Blanc the wine that “stared” in Sideways? A weird choice given the silly diatribe at the beginning of the film about Merlot!
I was gonna make a Ratatouille bit, but I looked it up and found out Ego had the ’47 Cheval Blanc, while Skinner had a ’61 Chateau Latour. My brain combined the two together for some reason.
Either way, phenomenal pull for NYE.
looks fantastic, glad you enjoyed. what was the pouilly fuisse if you dont mind my asking – its my favorite varietal of white wine and i’m always on the hunt for good bottles of it
Jesus Christ.
That is crazy dark for ‘61. Im almost a pessimist of its provenance but what a unicorn
“The day you open a ‘61 cheval blanc, that’s the special occasion”
I can’t believe how well that 61 has held up going solely off of the color. Here’s a question for someone with experience opening and drinking wines a half century or older, has a Wine ever come out looking this good but fell apart immediately or was not there? This one appears to have little to no oxidation, it’s really incredible.
Just curious if you can always read a book by its cover if you know what I mean?
Damn. Moments like the one you just described are very hard to put into words. You succeeded.