A magical specimen, the Chateau Cheval Blanc 2005 is a powerful, deep and incredibly massive wine by this estate's standards, but it never loses a sense of elegance, purity and delicacy. Grandiloquent notes of cassis, floral incense, tobacco leaves and dry earth flow into a full-bodied red that has sweet, integrated tannins, a beautiful mid-palate, impeccable balance and a huge finish. It drinks surprisingly well today, and my money is on it continuing to do so for another three decades.