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On the ninth day
On the ninth day of Christmas of our festive fine wine ideas, db’s Bordeaux correspondent Colin Hay suggests a Bordeaux château that is taking its carbon and wider environmental footprint seriously and finding sustainable solutions.
The wine: Le Petit Cheval Blanc 2022
Format: Three bottles of Cheval Blanc’s elegant and refined blanc sec in the strikingly new and significantly more environmentally sensitive wooden case that the property will use from now on.
Unique selling point: The wine is wonderful and the packaging is both beautiful and a highly creative and eloquent solution to the problem of what to do with the wooden case in an age of climatic and environmental emergency. The little woollen socks that protect each bottle could also be repurposed for many a festive role!
Yours for: This is currently available from a variety of sources, including Millesima UK for £388 in bond for a case of three bottles. The recommended retail price is €115-20 excluding tax.
Le Petit Cheval Blanc 2022 (Bordeaux blanc; 71 % Sauvignon Blanc, 29 % Sémillon; 13% alcohol; crafted from a mosaic of 13 parcels from the 6.6 hectares of what was once the Tour du Pin vineyard just across the street from the château itself; tasted in October 2024 with Pierre-Olivier Clouet). Crisp, fresh, bright and aerial, this has a lovely leafy Sauvignon signature to the aromatics. White currant leaf; blood orange; mandarin zest; lime; linden; beeswax; which peach; and a very evident stony minerality. There’s a hint of rose petal and an intriguing note of tomato stalk and vine, a touch of fleur de sel on the finish. On the palate this is lithe and dynamic, limpid and crystalline. It’s succulent, too, but always poised and taut, bright with youthful energy and potential. 94+.
*Although the 9th day of Christmas falls on 2nd January, as the db offices are shut between Christmas and New Year, we thought we’d publish the full list in advance so you have time to get organised and stock up before festivities begin!
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