Cheval Quancard Premières Côtes de Bordeaux white dry 2001

Cheval Quancard – Premières Côtes de Bordeaux Blanc Sec 2001: A ‘wine of the century’ dedicated to the Queen

The Cheval Quancard Premières Côtes de Bordeaux Blanc Sec 2001 is an exceptional white wine, hailing from one of the appellation’s finest vintages and honoured with an unusual cultural reference. The Premières Côtes de Bordeaux appellation stretches along a ridge some 60 kilometres long on the right bank of the Garonne, south-east of Bordeaux, and forms part of the Entre-deux-Mers wine-growing region. Here, both dry and sweet white wines are produced from the Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle grape varieties on calcareous clay and gravel soils.

The Cheval Quancardestate looks back on a family tradition dating back to 1844, when Pierre Quancard founded the trading house in Bordeaux. Over six generations, the company has developed into one of the region’s leading wine houses. In 1985, it was given its current name, and with the move to Carbon-Blanc in 1998, its facilities were expanded to over 17,000 square metres. As both a winegrower and a négociant-éleveur, Cheval Quancard combines expertise in both viticulture and winemaking – a dual expertise that is reflected in the quality of every single wine. Since 2007, the house has also been among the first in Bordeaux to offer organically certified products.

The 2001 vintage is considered one of the appellation’s great vintages. In the official classification of vintages, 2001 is listed alongside 1989 and 2009 as a ‘Millésime du siècle’ – one of the highest honours for a vintage. The climatic conditions that year allowed the grapes to ripen to perfection, resulting in a remarkable balance of fruit, acidity and structure.

The wine was accorded a special honour when it was featured in the first volume of the famous Japanese manga ‘The Drops of God’ (神の雫). The tasting scene compared the wine to a concert by the band Queen – a metaphor for its powerful, multi-layered yet precise structure. The tasting note describes a lovely yellow colour with green and golden highlights, a fruity and lively nose with elegant notes of candied citrus fruits, and a straightforward, generous and full-bodied attack on the palate, leading into a refreshing finish with lovely salinity.

For lovers of great Bordeaux white wines, this 2001 Cheval Quancard offers the rare opportunity to experience a wine from a vintage of the century, one that tells a story all of its own through its connection to pop culture – and which bears the hallmark of one of Bordeaux’s most traditional wine houses.