Wine Advisor
Valandraud 2001
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A dense, rich savoury nose with chocolate, roasted chestnuts and macerated cherries. The palate is rich, full-bodied with toasty tannins and a roasted quality to it. Rich, heady, very tannic on the finish. Cherry, redcurrant, dates, figgy. Great length but it is rather cloying and over-extracted. Tasted October 2007.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Jean-Luc Thunevin and his wife Murielle think 2001 might be superior to 2000 ... for them. They may well be right, as this is certainly one of the most impressive wines of the vintage. Inky blue/purple in color, with an extraordinary nose of espresso roast, chocolate, ripe blackberries, and cassis, this full-bodied, dense, concentrated effort looks like it is going to be one of the greatest Valandrauds made since this estate burst onto the scene. In short, this is a serious, impressive effort from one of Bordeaux's qualitative revolutionaries. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2020.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
As hard as it may be to believe, Valandraud’s 2001 is better than their 2000. One of the great efforts from proprietors Murielle Andraud and Jean-Luc Thunevin, the 2001 Valandraud boasts a saturated plum/purple color as well as a sumptuously sweet nose of Varhona chocolate intertwined with espresso roast, blackberries, cherry jam, and currants. Full-bodied, opulent, voluptuously textured, pure, rich, and seriously endowed, this is a brilliant effort from Bordeaux’s leading revolutionary. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020. By the way, the kosher cuvee of this wine merits 91-92 points. It is undeniably the finest kosher wine I have ever tasted.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the Valandraud vertical at the property, the 2001 Valandraud is a vintage that I had tasted previously but had not impressed. Well, here it gave a totally different impression (paired blind against a superb 2001 Opus One incidentally). It has a deep color with very little ageing. The bouquet offers intense black cherries, mulberry, orange rind and cedar aromas that are vigorous and very well defined. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and superb tension. The texture feels slightly chalky, almost as if from calcareous soils, and you can feel the energy towards the vivid red cherry and raspberry coulis-tinged finish. This is only just beginning to show what it can do. This is equal to the 2000 Valandraud and might actually be the better long-term bet. Tasted December 2016.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
As one might expect from Murielle and Jean-Luc Thunevin's home estate, the 2001 Valandraud displays serious depth, ripeness, and concentration. A saturated ruby/purple color is followed by aromas of ripe blackberries and cherries intermixed with graphite and subtle wood. It offers more power and muscle than many young Valandrauds, along with abundant structure and tannin. Given its upbringing on its lees, this offering should put on weight, possibly meriting an even higher score. This serious, impressive effort from one of Bordeaux's qualitative revolutionaries, will be drinkable between 2006-2016.
About the Producer
Chateau Valandraud is located in the Saint-Emilion appellation on the right bank of Bordeaux, France. It is a famous pioneer winery of Garage Wine in Bordeaux. One of the most expensive wines in the Loh region. The achievements of Château Valenzo are inseparable from a wine-passionate couple, Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud. This well-known couple in the wine world started out selling wine in the Saint-Emilion region. After their business success, they decided to open up a vineyard of their own and make their own wine. So, in 1989, the couple bought a 0.6-hectare vineyard near Chateau Pavie Macquin and Chateau La Clotte in Saint-Emilion. The winery is named after the place name Vallon de Fongaban and the family name of the hostess Andro. In this way, Valanzo Winery was born. After that, Jean-Luc Touven and Muriel Andrew successively bought several other small vineyards. Today, the winery has 8.88 hectares of vineyards. In 1991, Château Valenzo released its first vintage. And just five years later, the 1995 Château Valandraud (Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classe, France) was awarded 95 points by Robert Parker, the "Wine Emperor". Since then, its value has soared, becoming one of the most expensive wines in Saint-Emilion. In 2012, Valenzo Winery was ranked Saint-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe B in the latest Saint-Emilion classification results with its outstanding performance. The winery also joined the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux in 2017. Jean-Luc Tournevin was called "Bordeaux's Black Sheep" by Robert Parker, also known as "Saint-Emilion's Bad Boy". However, these seemingly derogatory titles are an affirmation of his pioneering innovation in winemaking. He created a new style of red Bordeaux wine by further compressing the grape yield, delaying the harvest time, increasing the extraction time and using new oak barrels for long aging. And it is this kind of Varanzo that makes the famous wine critic Michel Bettane give the highest evaluation of "love at first sight". The vineyards of Valenzo Winery have a superior terroir. The soil types in the garden are mainly limestone and clay. The red grape planting includes 65% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec and 1% Carmenere, white grapes are mainly Sauvignon Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. Three varieties. To this day, the winery has always adhered to the high requirements for the quality of grapes, and manually screened the wine grapes with extremely strict standards. In terms of brewing, the winery has achieved a combination of tradition and modern technology. Grapes are harvested by hand when they reach their peak ripeness and undergo a first screening in the vineyard, followed by an extremely rigorous secondary screening in the winemaking workshop. The selected grapes undergo alcoholic fermentation in different vessels (stainless steel tanks, concrete tanks and oak barrels), followed by a three-week maceration, during which the skins are manually pressed to fully extract the color, tannins and flavor substances. The wine is then placed in oak barrels for Malolactic Fermentation. Next, the wine will be matured for 18-30 months in 100% new French oak barrels. The winery spends huge sums of money to replace expensive new oak barrels every year. Finally, the wine is bottled without filtration and clarification. Valenzo Winery's authentic wine-Valanzo Winery's red wine is gorgeous in style, rich in aroma, silky tannins, fruity and fresh, rich and complex on the palate, rich in black berries and spices in oak barrels The taste adds a charming roasted aroma and has excellent ageing potential. In addition, the winery also produces a second-brand wine - Virginie de Valandraud, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, France, and a third-brand wine - Château Valenzo No. 3 Dry red wines (3 de Valandraud, Saint-Emilion, France) and 2 very good white wines.
1995(4)1997(1)1998(2)1999(2)2000(3)
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