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10 wines that tell the Averys story


To commemorate our 225th year, we look back at 10 wines that have shaped Averys history. Second on our list is the illustrious Château Cheval Blanc.

2.     Château Cheval Blanc, Saint-Émilion 1er Grand Cru Classé

The Bristol/Bordeaux connection dates back to Eleanor of Aquitaine, so it should come as no surprise that Bordeaux has played a key role in the Averys story and indeed, continues to do so today. But there are a couple of wines that deserve a special mention and the first of these is Château Cheval Blanc (you’ll have to wait until next month for the other Bordeaux on the list!)

Back in the 1920s when Ronald Averys first took over the running of Averys, most wine sold in the UK was bought via British agents. Ronald, however, did things differently. He insisted on visiting wineries and tasting the wines with the winemakers. By doing so, he not only became an excellent taster but he built close relationships with winemaking families that Averys continue to value to this day. Equally as valuable was that it gave him access to wines that simply weren’t known in the UK, including Cheval Blanc.

Ronald had a particular fondness for Cheval Blanc and it wasn’t unusual for Averys to have several different vintages on the list at any one time. Oh, how we’d long to get our hands on those now!
But back in the 1920s, Saint-Émilion was little known by wine lovers and the wines certainly couldn’t command prices anywhere near those of the Médoc. Ronald went out on a limb backing wines like Cheval Blanc and was a great advocate of Right Bank claret.

Cheval Blanc has been on our list ever since and several vintages were bottled in the Averys Cellars in Bristol (the photo above shows a 1959 Averys bottling of Cheval Blanc).

We can still help you get hold of a case of Cheval Blanc today. The best way is to buy en primeur but our fine wine team can help with older vintages too. Simply email finewine@averys.com to register your interest or call them on 01173 008 305. Our 2017 Bordeaux En Primeur tasting will be on May 16th buy your tickets here http://bit.ly/BdxEpBlog

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