Cheval Blanc

Cheval BlancA nice wine, but a moderate Cheval Blanc is the right way to state things here. Medium bodied, with a distinctive herbal edge, there is a crisp quality to the plums along with alternating sweet and tart fruits in the finish. There is no reason to age this any longer.

the already mature wine ends with soft dark and red fruits along with a hint of green flavors

A background application of wood serves as a reasonably neutral backdrop for the floral and attractively spicy aromas of plum and dark pinot fruit that is cut with a touch of earth character

It remains to be seen if that is a true stylistic shift or simply a reflection of the 2015 vintage

5-hectare plot of 65+-year-old vines at the top of the Paje vineyard

at least on this showing - it has velvety tannins that pack a punch

Grasso's 2013 Barolo Ginestra Casa Matè is powerful

Like several wines in the range the medium-bodied flavors possess good detail and an appealing vibrancy with good muscle

aged in two-thirds foudre and one-third demi-muids and drawn exclusively from sandy sites

The palate is built like a brick house

and the time in oak was shortened

in a somehow more baroque way

Musky aromas of mocha