Cheval des Andes 2020

Tim Atkin

Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux

The Wine Independent

Vinous - Antonio Galloni

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2020 Cheval des Andes was harvested from the last of February for the first time ever. It was Gabillet's second vintage at Cheval des Andes, and that year, he had to start without waiting for Pierre Olivier Clouet and Pierre Lurton from Cheval Blanc; when they arrived, they had finished picking the Malbec, which surprisingly was fresher in Las Compuertas (because of the higher percentage of clay?) than in Altamira (where the vines suffered more stress), saving the freshness. They now harvest using cold trucks (for the first time), and they also started earlier in the morning (six in the morning, impossible earlier in Mendoza...), which he reckons was very good for the precision of the wine. They used 40% 225-liter barrels, 40% 400-liter oak barrels and 20% 2,500-liter foudres, half of them new and with an élevage of 15 months on average, depending on the lots and varieties from 12 to 18 months. The final blend was 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot, which makes a comeback as it was not used since 2016. The key was to finish the fermentation of the Petit Verdot without skins, and that way, they have been able to use it in the blends of 2021, 2022 and 2023 in small but increasing percentages. This is slightly riper than 2019, with a little more alcohol (14.5%) and with very good structural tannins but saving the freshness, and it has the spicy side from the Petit Verdot (Gabillet talks about white pepper). The wine has the ultra sleek and polished texture and the elegance and the balance that is the signature here; the wine is very clean and precise. I see very good regularity across the three vintages I tasted next to each other—this 2020 and the 2018 and 2019. Overall, this is a triumph over the adverse conditions of the vintage. They produced their usual 100,000 bottles (since 2018), as they are renewing their vineyards and want to keep the volume stable. They produce this volume from the 36 productive hectares they have in Las Compuertas and Altamira. There are some more changes: in 2020, they went for a lighter bottle, weighing 100 grams less than the one they used in 2018 and 2019, but close to 300 grams less than the bottle from before. It's also a slimmer bottle, always thinking about the environment. They are very focused on agroecology, accelerating the regenerative viticulture and using cover crops; they have planted 1,900 trees in the last three years, creating small clusters of biodiversity for birds. They have transplanted some centenary olive trees and keep their sheep and lamas on the property. Very green-minded.

I met with winemaker Gérald Gabillet to taste the new vintage of Cheval des Andes. He explained how they are finally going to build their own winery that they hope to have in place to vinify the 2025 vintage, and then they will have the conditions to produce one second label or maybe separate IG bottles from Las Compuertas (the generosity and fabulous Cabernet Sauvignon) and Altamira (the freshness). The grapes have been certified organic since April 2023 (all 47 hectares), and they will seek the organic certification for the wine once they have their winery. To give context to the current 2020 vintage, we also tasted 2018 and 2019. They learned a lot with the challenges of 2020, a very warm year that didn't exist in Bordeaux until 2022 (and perhaps 2003), and they used that experience to manage 2023. For them, 2022 was a very good harvest (exceptional for Cabernet Sauvignon); 2023 was extremely warm, and they had to harvest quickly after very continuous heat. As for 2021, it was a very cool vintage, in line with 2019 and 2016 (a Niño year, super cold), impacted by rain in February (150 liters in Las Compuertas and 200 liters in Altamira) that made more fluid and approachable wines.

James Suckling

Ripe, baked dark cherries with spices and some violets. Hints of graphite, cocoa powder, incense and black pepper. Dried rose petals. A slightly fuller Cheval des Andes with tense, silky tannins and a lingering, generous finish. Ripe, but still has lots of restraint and precision. 49% malbec, 49% cabernet sauvignon with a 2% petit verdot. 24% of the malbec comes from Altamira and all the rest of the fruit come from Las Compuertas. Drink or hold.

Tim Atkin

Patricio Tapia - Descorchados

The 2020 vintage was marked by the start of the pandemic as well as by the heat that manifested itself through ripeness. That's why many moved the harvest date forward, as was the case with Cheval, which began harvesting n late February, two weeks earlier than it did in 2019. That made it possible to obtain a red (49% malbec, 49% cabernet sauvignon, and 2% petit verdot) that clearly shows the cabernet's herbal notes and tart red fruits. The body is indeed voluptuous, with round and pleasing tannins, with firm acidity that maintains the balance and freshness—this is an excellent version in a challenging year. Cheval des Andes has been made since the 1999 vintage and has always been a malbec-based blend with cabernet sauvignon. The main sources of grapes are two vineyard they own in Las Compuertas, on the northern bank of the Mendoza River, and Altamira, in the Uco Valley.