France

Cabernet Sauvignon

Merlot

Cabernet Franc

Ch. Valandraud

Chateau Valandraud Premier Grand Cru Classe B Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

Bordeaux

Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

Intensely deep colour, this is ink laid over ink. Manages to somehow deliver a stunning depth of black and blue fruits while still allowing some air in among the concentration. Has purity, depth and intelligence in its approach and construction. Be prepared for the waves of exuberant complexity, a wine where you brain beings to say no, but the oyster shell mouthwatering finish, and the clear grain to the tannic frame, convinces you otherwise. Limestone working its magic. 3.5.ph, 100% new oak. Harvest September 15 to October 8, becquse these are cooler terroirs. damson, p

Inside Bordeaux

The 2022 Valandraud is a blend of 88% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, aging for 18-24 months in 100% new oak. Deep purple-black in color, it spills from the glass with notes of baked black plums, boysenberry preserves, and fruitcake, leading to an undercurrent of cedar chest, Indian spices, and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, rich, and spicy, the palate has fantastic tension and a firm, fine-grained texture, finishing with great length. pH 3.55.

by Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW

Amateur

There are very few wines in this vintage where you see these grilled, smoky aromatics that are backed up by fruit, but Valandraud delivers, and here you feel that owner Jean-Luc Thunevin stepped in and said, keep going, I want a Valandraud that I recognise. There is still acidity, but it is shaped into austerity and sapidity, with slate tannins, good quality plum and damson fruits. Estate signature, with ageing ability. Harvest 26 September to 7 October, 3.5pH. 100% new oak. Jean-Philippe Fort and Alexandre Béra from Rolland Consultants. Less leaning in to the vintage than railing against it, and there is clear oak here - but it works. 

The 2023 Valandraud has a deep garnet-purple color. It needs some patient swirling to bring out fragrant notes of star anise, Indian spices, cedar chest, and fragrant soil, giving way to a core of plum preserves and blackberry pie. Full-bodied, concentrated, and built like a brick house, it has firm, chewy tannins and bags of freshness, finishing very long and opulent. This will take some time to come around, yet should be a very long-lived Valandraud! The blend is 84% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon with a pH of 3.5. It is aging in 100% new oak barrels. The alcohol is 15%.

One of my highest scores for a red wine En Primeur, and it continues to be extremely successful, with a richness and concentration to the fruit that makes it stand out. The oak smokiness is evident, but with enough balance that it will clearly soften and integrate over the next five to six years, and the slate and crushed rock texture of the palate gives grip and length. Even a touch of creaminess to the blackberry and blueberry fruits as it opens. 100% new oak (my earlier EP note read: This is a vintage where you need the warm hug of a softly smoked oak barrel, and Thunevin knows how to administer it). 29hl/h yield, 3.5ph. Tasted twice.

The 2020 Valandraud has a deep garnet-purple color. It opens with overtones of cedar and lifted Morello cherries before giving way to a core of fruitcake, blueberry pie, chargrill, and Indian spices, with wafts of licorice and cardamom. The big, concentrated, full-bodied palate quivers with tension and shimmers with energy, framed by beautifully ripe tannins, finishing long and opulent. Gorgeous.     

The 2019 Valandraud, made from 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, is deep garnet-purple in color. Oak notes dominates on the nose to begin, giving way to a core of baked black cherries, dried mulberries, and boysenberry preserves, plus a suggestion of Chinese five spice. The full-bodied palate delivers decadent, mouth-coating black fruits with a firm, grainy texture and racy backbone, finishing long and layered. Allow it another 4-5 years in cellar and drink it over the next 20-years+.

The 2018 Valandraud has a deep garnet purple color. It opens with scents of tar and fertile loam, over a core of stewed cherries and plum preserves, plus waft of tobacco and pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is firm and grainy with taut, muscular fruit and a savory finish. 

A success in a cooler vintage that is offering a real moment of pleasure right now. This is packed with juicy black fruits, layered and nuanced with liqourice and spiced plum, with a crayon and salted cracker finish that showcases the cool clay-limestone soils of Valandraud's vineyard site. This feels vivid and full of life, and as ever I'm a fan of Valandraud in years where nature puts the breaks of what is, as I described it when tasting in bottle years ago, 'Thunevin's irrepresible nod towards exuberance'. 100% new oak.

Amatør

Dive in to this lovely Valandraud, textured and rippled with fleshy red fruits and limestone fingerprints, austere in all the right places, opulent where you want it to be. Great stuff, leans into the vintage and shows its joy. Jean-Luc Thunevin owner, 100% new oak for ageing.

Luscious blue and black fruits on the nose, layered through with liqourice and toasted almond, along with creme patisserie giving that Thunevin gourmet twist. At the 10 years on point, the finesse of clay limestone soils are starting to come through, giving the promise of slow, steady ageing, with the patina of smooth tannins one decade on. Good quality.

The 2013 Valandraud is medium garnet in color, with a touch of brick. It sashays out with gregarious notions of plum pudding, raisin cake, and unsmoked cigars, followed by hints of iron ore, Indian spices, and licorice. Medium-bodied, the palate is laden with a good intensity of dried black fruits and exotic spices, framed by firm, chewy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing minerally.

The year that Valandraud was promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé B, going straight to the position from Grand Cru (the only other one to do so is Mondotte). This makes it a particularly special wine to be tasting at 12 years on, now that the firm tannic structure has begun to soften and melt into the black and red brambled fruit. You're always going to get a touch of sandalwood and espresso grilled notes in Valandraud, and an exuberant expansion through the palate, but at this point it is balanced by gentle cigar box, dried herbs, oyster shell and tobacco. Enjoyable. 100% new oak.

Closed down on the nose, intense and concentrated, cocoa bean, loganberry, damson, cigar box, orange peel, gunsmoke, with a wall of grilled sandalwood and bitter chocolate. It's a wine that I have struggled to fully get on board with, and still for me needs longer to really open up. It has been called 'Rubanesque' and I can see why - I am a real fan of Valandraud in recent vintages, and although some tasters will disagree with me, in these years they were still pressing too hard on the pedal. 100% new oak for ageing.

Heavy oak toasting and tar on the oak, these were the time when Valandraud was in full flight of exuberance and extraction, before it took the foot off the pedal over the last five years. Spice and grilled cedar give plenty of impact, and are backed up by gourmet slabs of cocoa bean and smoked earth, but the ripe dark fruits are so concentrated that they lack juice, giving it more estate than vintage signature. Cleverly constructed, but lacks light and shade. 100% new oak, harvest October 1 to 5.

A difficult vintage generally in Bordeaux, but Valandraud was renowned at the time for performing better than most, and it is still going strong. Melted tannins, sweet salted caramel, mocha and torrified coffee beans that speaks of the 100% new oak, along with raspberry fruit, fine tannins, length and persistency. A great moment to drink this, and one of the surprise successes of the week's wines for me. Easy to recommend, great stuff from owner Jean-Luc Thunevin. Served blind.

Category	Red wine
Vinmonopolet no.
Producer	Ch. Valandraud
Vintages	2022
Country	France, Bordeaux, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Bottle	75 cl

Alcohol	%
Acid	%
Sugar	g/l

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