Cheval des Andes 2019

In the late 1990s Pierre Lurton, the president of Château Cheval Blanc, was in search of pristine Malbec vines.  Finding these vines was a form of connecting to the origins of Bordeaux.  For context, the majority of France’s Malbec was almost eradicated by the devastating outbreak of phylloxera in the 1860s.  Fortunately, many of these plantings were saved because of a practice called, “grafting,” but the identity of this grape would be forever changed.  Because of this, Pierre Lurton set his sights on Argentina – the one country home to a sea of ungrafted and unaltered Malbec vines.  After discovering the Malbec vineyard Las Compuetras at the foot of the Andes Mountain range, Pierre knew he had stumbled upon something extraordinary.  Cheval des Andes is the result of a joint venture between Château Cheval Blanc and Terrazas de Los Andes. The wine is a blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot that captures the intensity of Argentinian terroir mixed with Bordeaux viticultural techniques.

Though Cheval des Andes has achieved the milestone of its 20th vintage, the estate’s history is a long one.  In the 1850s, the French transported plantings of Malbec vines from Bordeaux to Argentina and these cuttings thrived in the country’s warmer temperatures and extreme terroir.  The cuttings of Malbec were spared from the French phylloxera outbreak at the turn of the century that nearly eradicated the majority of the Malbec vines in Bordeaux.  The Las Compuetras vineyard was one particular property in the prestigious Luján de Cuyo region that would be planted with old vine Malbec in 1929.  Seventy years later, it would be these vines that would capture Pierre Lurton’s attention, inspiring him with the idea of creating a wine that would uncover the origins of Bordeaux. 

The name, “Las Compuetras” means, “The Floodgates,”  which is an homage to the irrigation methods used by the Incan people who were indigenous to this region.  They would typically use snowpack to water the vines from the Andes Mountain range.  Interestingly enough, this method drowned phylloxera pests, which very well may be the reason why the majority of old vine Malbec were spared from the devastating outbreak that affected the rest of the world.  The team at Cheval des Andes has refined this practice, collecting the snowpack from the Andes Mountain in snow reservoirs and then using it to irrigate the vines at this "Grand Cru" vineyard at the base of the Andes Mountains.  They ensure that each parcel is planted in perfectly compatible terroir, and harvest at the optimum date to ensure freshness.   The Petit Verdot is imported directly from Château Margaux prior to being added to the final blend depending on the vintage.

The Cheval Blanc team started a biodiversity project on the property, ensuring that local birds and bees are attracted to their vineyards.  After the vines are harvested by hand, they implement the vinification process, ensuring the final blend is nothings short of perfection. Cheval des Andes favors elegance and restraint over power and bold fruit, making it a stylistically unique wine from Argentina and a leader from the region. 
 

"The 2019 Cheval des Andes had 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 that 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 implication 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 Gerald 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 keep producing 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, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (8/31/2022, Issue 262), Ratings: 98, Drink: 2023-2035

"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." - Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous (2022) Ratings: 97, Drink: 2024-2035

"Rich powerful black cherry and bilberry fruits that almost perform the role of tannins, with flesh and juice but also solidity, concentration and texture. Balanced, exudes confidence as it opens and deepens in the glass, excellent quality and a real highpoint in the progression of Cheval des Andes. First time to have equal amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, with reductive winemaking that puts the emphasis on floral framing, layered up with grilled oak, cocoa bean and liqourice. Tasted twice.''Jane Anson, Best Pomerol 2020 Wines Tasted En Primeur (06/14/2022) Ratings: 96, Drink: 2026-2042