Wine Advisor
Valandraud 2012
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2012 Valandraud hits the palate with gorgeous depth. A powerful, racy wine, the 2012 boasts remarkable intensity and structure for the year. Mocha, bittersweet chocolate, plums and dark spices open up, but above all else, in this vintage, Valandraud is a wine of structure. This is one of the few 2012s that absolutely needs several years in the cellar. A broad frame of tannin supports the deep finish. The blend is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. Stated simply, Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud have crafted one of the wines of the vintage.
Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
(100% merlot): Opaque, fully saturated, practically impenetrable inky-ruby; this may be the darkest wine of the vintage. Deep, brooding aromas of dark berries and cherry are complicated by herbs, graphite and licorice. Chewy, rich flavors of cassis, plum, flint and herbs. The extremely long finish coats the palate with youthfully chewy yet noble tannins. Great stuff. It may surprise some that Valandraud this year is 100% merlot, but insiders know that the 2007 version was also made entirely from merlot. Thunevin didn't feel that the cabernet franc was ripe enough to go into his top wine in 2012, so he put it all into the Virginie de Valandraud--which is actually a fairly remarkable wine too, so his cabernet franc couldn't have been that bad. This is one of my favorite wines of the vintage.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The flagship wine from Jean-Luc Thunevin and his partner, Murielle, the 2012 Valandraud is a classic St.-Emilion. Its opaque ruby/purple color is accompanied by notes of camphor, charcoal, black currants, black raspberries, chocolate and espresso. The oak, acidity and ripe tannin are all well-integrated. Another over-performer from this couple, it should drink nicely for 12-15 years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the Valandraud vertical at the property, the 2012 Valandraud instantly demonstrated the wide gap in quality between itself and the previous vintage. It is a blend of 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc matured for 28 months in 100% new oak. It has a primal and concentrated bouquet with intense blackberry, bilberry and graphite aromas that gain intensity in the glass, and yet remain "strict" and linear. The palate is medium-bodied with brittle tannin that impart a chalky texture. There is plenty of clean and crisp blackberry and raspberry fruit here, pencil lead and a touch of chalk towards the precise and vivid finish. The energy is palpable in this Saint Emilion, a quite stupendous wine from Jean-Luc and Murielle that must stand as one of the best on the Right Bank. This comes strongly recommended, although it still needs plenty of time. Tasted December 2016.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Now sporting its Premier Grand Cru Classe strip, the 2012 has a very controlled, focused bouquet with pure blackcurrant, cassis and boysenberry aromas that are well defined, perhaps less opulent than recent vintages. The palate is ripe and generous on the entry. The tannins gently grip the mouth and it rises to a suave, vanillary finish with plenty of ripe red berry fruit that will absorb the oak during its elevage. Sublime. Tasted April 2013.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A tribute to the partnership of Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud, the 2012 Valandraud is a magnificent wine and one of the superstars of the vintage. Inky purple, with notes of white chocolate, crème de cassis, blackberry fruit and lively background minerality, it has great precision, acidity, sweet tannin and a voluptuous full-bodied mouthfeel. It is very vigorous, young and backward, but bursting with unbelievable potential. This is a fabulous effort from perfectionists Andraud and Thunevin. Thunevin, the father of the “garagiste” movement in St.-Emilion, usually fashions this wine from a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and the balance Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, from 11 acres sprinkled throughout the appellation. Drink it between 2020-2035.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2012 Valandraud hits the palate with gorgeous depth. A powerful, racy wine, the 2012 boasts remarkable intensity and structure for the year. Mocha, bittersweet chocolate, plums and dark spices open up, but above all else, in this vintage, Valandraud is a wine of structure. This is one of the few 2012s that absolutely needs several years in the cellar. A broad frame of tannin supports the deep finish. The blend is 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. Stated simply, Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud have crafted one of the wines of the vintage.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A dense wine for the vintage with layers of fruit and tannins. Full body, with velvety tannins and a juicy finish. Ripe and pretty.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Beautiful nose showing candied black cherries with floral and chalky notes. Lots of dark fruits. Full body, soft tannins, good acidity and long, fruity finish. Refined style of Valandraud. Better in 2017.
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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