Wine Advisor
Valandraud 2002
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A strong effort from Murielle and Jean-Luc Thunevin, the 2002 Valandraud possesses a saturated ruby/purple color in addition to scents of chocolate, espresso, black currants, and cherries. Dense, medium to full-bodied, concentrated, and muscular, the 2002 is less silky and opulent than the 2001, but still impressively endowed and well-balanced. It should shed much of its tannin in 2-5 years, and drink well for 12-15+.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the Valandraud vertical at the property, the 2002 Valandraud has a slightly foursquare bouquet at first, but it seems to gain focus and precision in the glass, a mixture of red and black fruit, orange zest and crushed violet, the latter becoming more prominent as it opens up. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin. It feels quite dense in the mouth, not as complex as the 2001 Valandraud, but it is cohesive and caressing, gently unfolding with white pepper and sage on the abrupt finish. Not bad for the vintage, even though it has lost some of its pizzazz. Tasted December 2016.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at Farr’s 2002 Bordeaux tasting. This Saint Emilion is slightly smudged on the nose: sloe and a touch of mulberry with well-interwoven new oak. There is a lot of extraction here on the palate: ripe red cherry fruit, quite fine but firm tannins, edgy, racy acidity and still rather unresolved...but this promising something for the future, more so than other Saint Emilion wines, whilst I admire its reserved, dare I say conservative on the finish. Good show. Tasted October 2009.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A huge success for this demanding year, this sleeper of the vintage boasts a deep purple color as well as a sweet perfume of creme de cassis, licorice, white chocolate, and new wood. It is a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, round, delicious offering in need of 2-3 more years of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2018. Note: Valandraud also produces a limited production kosher cuvee. The 2003 merited (90-92 points), and the 2002 (89 points). It may be the world’s finest kosher wine.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A surprise for the vintage. It’s rich and round with chocolate, berry and dark fruits. Dark chocolate too. Full and velvety. Lots there. Chewy. Just opening now.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A surprise for the vintage. It’s rich and round with chocolate, berry and dark fruits. Dark chocolate too. Full and velvety. Lots there. Chewy. Just opening now.
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.
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