Wine Advisor
Valandraud 2010
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. Jean-Luc Thunevin has hit the ball out of the park with the 2010 Valandraud. It has an alluring, beautifully defined bouquet with mineral rich black and red fruit,: great tension, poise and focus. The palate is well balanced and succulent in the mouth with extremely well judged acidity. Somehow understated at first, but complex and sophisticated, the Valandraud is beautifully focused with a long tender finish with perfect equilibrium between dryness and sweetness. Tasted January 2014.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A brilliant effort from Jean-Luc Thunevin (Bordeaux’s so-called “bad boy” or bete noire), the dense purple-colored 2010 Valandraud exhibits notes of black currants, sweet cherries, licorice, incense and hints of forest floor and oak. This complex, full-bodied, powerful St.-Emilion oozes with extract and sweet, well-integrated tannins. It should drink well for 20+ years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Whereas the Virginie has a classic style, the Grand Vin is far more decadent with super-ripe dark cherry fruits, creme de cassis, vanilla extract and macerated dark cherries. The palate is medium-bodied with a velvety-smooth entry, notes of black cherries, boysenberry jam, creme de cassis and vanilla, weighty on the finish with good persistency. You know, for the first time ever, I might prefer the Second wine to the Grand Vin...whatever swings your boat! Tasted April 2011.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A real classic from Thunevin's 20 acres of vineyards is the 2010 Valandraud, a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. A powerful wine showing even better from bottle than it did from barrel. The classic graphite nose intermixed with some licorice, sweet black cherries and black currants, forest floor and incense is on display in this powerful, super-concentrated, well-delineated wine, which is full-bodied, dense and moderately tannic. Unlike most Valandrauds, this wine will benefit from 4-5 years of cellaring and keep for 20-25 years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the Valandraud vertical at the property, the 2010 Valandraud is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc matured for 22 months in new oak (a little less than subsequent vintages). Initially it felt a little volatile on the nose at first and took time to calm down. This is very heady and raucous, lacking the refinement of the brilliant and superior 2010 Lafleur poured alongside. The palate is very concentrated with blackcurrant pastille and blueberry, veins of cassis emerging towards the finish. Almost viscous in texture, it has immense volume and persistence. It just needs a lot more time to temper its fieriness but that will surely come in time. This is a Valandraud for those with patience. Tasted December 2016.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Deep garnet colored, the 2010 Valandraud comes bounding out of the glass with exuberant blueberry compote, Black Forest cake and plum preserves notions, plus hints of underbrush, camphor and licorice. Full-bodied, rich and seductive, it has a gorgeous velvety texture and great freshness supporting the decadent fruit through the long, energetic finish.
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
Inky violet-ruby. Knockout aromas of blackberry, violet and smoky minerality. Large-scaled and creamy but with a solid acid spine and a restrained sweetness to its explosive dark fruit, floral and vanilla flavors. Seamless and long, finishing with serious, mounting tannins smothered by fruit. Another very well-made wine from Jean-Luc Thunevin.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2010 Valandraud has a well-defined bouquet, the fruit slightly darker than its peers, quite mineral-driven and precise. This feels very lively and energetic. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, plenty of black fruit laced with tar and black pepper. This is a superb Right Bank with class and pedigree. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Good deep medium ruby. Slightly high-toned, kaleidoscopic nose combines crushed blueberry, black raspberry, graphite, violet and sexy oak notes of mocha and espresso. Superripe and wonderfully sweet but with harmonious acidity leavening the wine's almost viscous ripeness. Plush, silky and utterly seamless wine with an impressively broad, slowly building finish featuring suave tannins, lingering notes of minerals and smoke and outstanding palate-saturating persistence. A great vintage for Jean-Luc Thunevin's flagship wine. Drink now or over the next 20 years.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Wow. What beautiful fruit here. It’s intense, but balanced with fine and silky tannins and a caressing texture. I love the layers of everything here from sliced plums to bright cherries. So long and interesting. Best ever?
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Complex aromas of licorice, plums, incense, and tar follow through to a full body, with velvety tannins and a ultra-fine tannic finish. Hints of toasted oak and cedar with chocolate. Not quite the 2009 but very close. Try in 2017.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A wine with superb class and length with blackberry, black chocolate and walnut. A cool spearmint undertone. Full-bodied. Very fine and tight grained. The length is very impressive and alluring. Sophisticated. Drink or hold.
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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