FLOAT 100 · Wine · No. 38

Chateau Cheval Blanc 2016

After a spring so wet that growers feared a washout, and a summer with barely a drop of rain, Cheval Blanc made a 2016 of such precision that one critic called it 'mind-blowing,' and for the first time in a decade it let Cabernet Sauvignon into the blend.

Maker: Chateau Cheval Blanc
By price in wine: 42 of 100

Market asking price, not a sale · October 2026$1,300This is not a sale. It is an asking price, and no transaction is recorded at this figure.

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Estate: Chateau Cheval Blanc, Saint-Emilion, on the Pomerol border, Bordeaux
Classification on the 2016 label: Premier Grand Cru Classe A, the top rank, reconfirmed in 2012; the estate withdrew from the classification in 2021
Ownership: Bought in 1998 by Bernard Arnault and Albert Frere; LVMH acquired Arnault's share in 2009
Blend: 59.5% Merlot, 37.2% Cabernet Franc, 3.3% Cabernet Sauvignon
Harvest: September 20 to October 12, 2016, per one critic
Analysis: 14.25% alcohol, pH 3.67; the grand vin took 77% of the harvest
Aging: 100% new French oak
Team: Pierre Lurton, director; Pierre-Olivier Clouet, technical director
Critics: From 97 to 100 points; Wine Advocate 100 (Lisa Perrotti-Brown, 2018)

A white horse cut from Figeac

Cheval Blanc's story begins in 1832, when the great Figeac estate, then about 200 hectares and owned by Countess Felicite de Carle-Trajet, began selling off parcels. Accounts differ on the buyer: one critic credits the Ducasse family, while another reference says 15 hectares went to a M. Laussac-Fourcaud. Before it became Cheval Blanc, the land was known as Le Barrail de Cailloux, roughly 'the barrel of little stones,' after its gravel.

In 1852 Mlle Ducasse married Jean Laussac-Fourcaud, bringing a dowry that included two of the five gravel mounds that run through the Cheval Blanc and Figeac vineyards. The family built the chateau still in use today, laid an extensive network of vineyard drains around 1860, probably the first on the Right Bank, and by 1871 had assembled 41 hectares. At first the wine was sold under the Figeac name; once it began winning medals, the owners gave it its own label, and the medals still appear on it.

The estate made some of Bordeaux's most famous wines in the 1920s, 1940s and 1950s; many older tasters consider the 1947 the best Bordeaux ever made. When Saint-Emilion first classified its wines in the 1950s, Cheval Blanc was placed at the very top, as Premier Grand Cru Classe A. The estate dates that to 1954; another reference gives 1955.

The founding family kept Cheval Blanc until 1998, when Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH, and the Belgian businessman Albert Frere bought it for about the equivalent of 135 million euros and installed Pierre Lurton as manager. In 2009 LVMH acquired Arnault's personal share.

One third Pomerol, one third Graves

Cheval Blanc sits in the northwest corner of Saint-Emilion, a stone's throw from the Pomerol plateau, with vines that abut those of Chateau L'Evangile. An old saying holds that the vineyard is one third Pomerol, one third Graves for its gravel, and one third classic Saint-Emilion. About 40% of the soil is gravel over clays, including blue clay; 40% is deep gravel; and 20% is sandy clay. The estate itself speaks of clay, gravel and sand across 56 plots, while one critic counts 53 or 54 parcels.

Unusually for the Right Bank, Cabernet Franc, not Merlot, dominates. One critic gives the plantings as 52% Cabernet Franc, 43% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon on 39 hectares, with a goal of returning to 55% Cabernet Franc; another reference gives 41 hectares in all, 37 of them planted. Some Cabernet Franc dates to 1920, and since 1996 replanting has used cuttings from the estate's own old vines.

In 2011 the architect Christian de Portzamparc, a Pritzker Prize winner, completed a new winery for the estate, set under a hill, with 52 curved, temperature-controlled concrete vats so that each parcel can be fermented on its own. One critic puts its cost at more than $20 million. The grand vin is usually aged about 18 months in new French oak, and the estate makes 8,000 to 10,000 cases a year.

2016: from flood to drought

The winter of 2015-2016 was the warmest in France since 1900, and January brought more than twice the usual rain. Spring stayed cool and wet; one critic wrote that even well-drained vineyards were simply too wet, and by mid-June, according to several growers, the vintage looked like a disaster in the making. Flowering began around May 25 and ran into late June.

Then, from June 23, the weather turned. The rest of the summer was hot and very dry, with only 13 mm of rain over 80 days and 53% less rain than usual through the end of September. Vineyards that had drained well in spring and could hold water through summer did best. On September 13 and 14 about 40 mm of rain fell, which one critic called perfect for the Merlot.

At Cheval Blanc, one critic records picking from September 20 to October 12. Another critic's note, as quoted by a merchant, says everything came in within just 10 days, with gravel and clay parcels picked at the same time. The sources do not reconcile the two accounts.

The wine: Cabernet Sauvignon returns

The 2016 is 59.5% Merlot, 37.2% Cabernet Franc and 3.3% Cabernet Sauvignon (one critic writes 37.5% Cabernet Franc). It was the first Cheval Blanc in about a decade to include any Cabernet Sauvignon; Jeb Dunnuck explained that it was the first year a replanted block of Cabernet Sauvignon made the top wine. The wine reached 14.25% alcohol, and the grand vin took 77% of the harvest.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown gave it 100 points in The Wine Advocate, published November 30, 2018, calling it 'a very different style from the rich, opulently hedonic 2015, yet ... equally extraordinary.' Writing later for The Wine Independent, she scored it 100 again and called it 'Mind-blowing!'

Most other critics landed between 97 and 98: Jeff Leve 98 ('Here is a wine of precision'), Jane Anson 98 at its ten-year mark, Wine Spectator's James Molesworth 97, and Jeb Dunnuck 97, who expected it to keep for three to four decades. Neal Martin of Vinous gave it 98, calling it 'Heavenly.' Dunnuck compared it to the 2001 by Pierre Lurton; Anson called it 'a fully sculpted Cheval Blanc.'

The last years of the 'A'

The 2016 belongs to the final run of Cheval Blanc vintages labeled Premier Grand Cru Classe A. In a letter dated July 12, 2021, Pierre Lurton, technical director Pierre-Olivier Clouet and commercial director Arnaud de Laforcade announced that the estate would not apply for the 2022 reclassification. They objected to criteria they described as 'marketing drift,' such as media presence and wine tourism, and complained that terroir and viticulture counted for only 15% of the grade. Chateau Ausone announced its withdrawal at the same time, and Angelus later followed. Starting with the 2022 vintage, Cheval Blanc's labels no longer carry the classification.

Cheval Blanc has long been a wine of popular culture. The 1961 is a plot point in the film Sideways, and in Ratatouille the critic Anton Ego orders a 1947. Robert Parker was famously attacked by the dog of the estate's then-manager, Jacques Hebrard, when he returned to retaste the 1981 after a review Hebrard disliked.

In the market, the 2017 vintage was released at 432 euros a bottle from the negociants, 22% less than the 2016. In 2026 one U.S. merchant listed the 2016 at $1,300 a bottle, and another still showed it at $699.97 on a page first set up for the futures offer.

The numbers

Vineyard: 39 ha (one critic); 41 ha with 37 ha planted (another reference)
Plantings: About 52% Cabernet Franc, 43% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon (one critic)
Vine density: 8,000 vines per hectare
Typical production: 8,000 to 10,000 cases a year
2016 blend: 59.5% Merlot, 37.2% Cabernet Franc, 3.3% Cabernet Sauvignon
The Wine Advocate (Lisa Perrotti-Brown, 2018): 100
The Wine Independent (Lisa Perrotti-Brown): 100
Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider (2019): 98
Jane Anson: 98
Wine Spectator (James Molesworth): 97
Jeb Dunnuck: 97
Neal Martin, Vinous: 98

Timeline

1832
Land is sold off from the Figeac estate, the start of what becomes Cheval Blanc.
1852
A Ducasse daughter marries Jean Laussac-Fourcaud, bringing gravel vineyards as her dowry.
1871
The family's holdings reach 41 hectares.
1947
Cheval Blanc makes a wine many tasters call the best Bordeaux ever.
1954
Saint-Emilion's first classification ranks Cheval Blanc Premier Grand Cru Classe A (one reference says 1955).
1988
The second wine, Le Petit Cheval, debuts.
1998
Bernard Arnault and Albert Frere buy Cheval Blanc; Pierre Lurton becomes manager.
2009
LVMH acquires Arnault's share.
2011
Christian de Portzamparc's new winery is completed.
2012
The Saint-Emilion classification reconfirms Cheval Blanc as Premier Grand Cru Classe A.
Jun 23, 2016
The rains stop; 80 days follow with only 13 mm of rain.
Sep 20, 2016
Harvest of the 2016 begins, finishing October 12, per one critic.
Apr 29, 2017
Jeff Leve tastes the 2016 from barrel and records its analysis and blend.
Nov 30, 2018
The Wine Advocate publishes a 100-point review of the 2016.
Sep 21, 2019
Jeff Leve tastes the bottled 2016 and scores it 98.
Jul 12, 2021
Cheval Blanc announces it will leave the Saint-Emilion classification.
2022
From this vintage, Cheval Blanc labels no longer state Premier Grand Cru Classe A.

The world in 2016

Apr 3, 2016
The Panama Papers are published.
Jun 23, 2016
The United Kingdom votes in a referendum to leave the European Union.
Jul 6, 2016
Pokemon Go is released and becomes a global phenomenon.
Aug 5, 2016
The Summer Olympics open in Rio de Janeiro.
Sep 3, 2016
The United States and China formally join the Paris climate agreement.
Nov 2, 2016
The Chicago Cubs win the World Series.
Nov 8, 2016
Donald Trump is elected president of the United States.

Price record

$100$1,000$10,000

Date	Price	Kind
Oct 2026	$1,300	Asking price, not a saleU.S. merchant list price per 750 ml bottle. An asking price, not a sale.
Oct 2026	$700	Asking price, not a saleU.S. merchant list price per 750 ml bottle, on a page first set up for the futures offer. An asking price, not a sale.

This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.

By reference price, Chateau Cheval Blanc 2016 is number 42 of 100 in the wine entries of the FLOAT 100. 12 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (38 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

Unusually for the Right Bank, Cheval Blanc's vineyard is mostly Cabernet Franc, not Merlot.
Some of Cheval Blanc's Cabernet Franc vines were planted in 1920.
The medals the wine won in the 19th century are still pictured on the label.
Robert Parker was attacked by the estate manager's dog when he came back to retaste the 1981.
In 2015 Cheval Blanc made no second wine at all; almost everything went into the grand vin.
The 1961 Cheval Blanc is a plot point in the film Sideways.

How this page is made

The figure: One reference price, shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
Realized or not: A realized price is a completed sale. An asking price, an estimate and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
The story: Researched from published records and checked fact by fact. Updated Oct 1, 2026.
Archive: Oct 5, 2026