2017 Virginie de Valandraud
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Tasting notes
Tasted blind. Very oak-led nose, spice and earth. Blue fruit, tar, wood tannin and smoke. Lots of polish and make-up. Inky dark fruit and more wood tannin on the finish, which is lined with spice. (TP)
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
The Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2017 Virginie de Valandraud is dark and rich in the glass, with a striking interplay of dense fruit and more floral, bright notes from the Cabernets in the blend. The 2017 is a gorgeous, super-expressive wine with a ton of potential. Moreover, the Virginie is a wine of real character.
Black raspberries, forest floor, spring flowers, and a kiss of white chocolate all emerge from the medium to full-bodied 2017 Virginie De Valandraud, which has a lively, elegant texture, beautiful balance, and silky tannins. It's a classic, polished, fruit-forward Bordeaux that will offer loads of pleasure over the coming decade. The blend is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, brought up in new barrels.
The production of 2017 Virginie de Valandraud was halved this year due to frost. It needed some encouragement from the glass, not quite as giving as previous vintages, eventually revealing scents of blueberry, cassis, violets and a touch of cold stone. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent, ripe tannin that frame layers of sweet black cherry and cassis fruit. I admire the energy within this Virginie de Valandraud, the manner in which the tongue is left tingling after the wine has departed.
About the producer
One of the first garage wines, Ch. Valandraud was created by Jean-Luc Thunevin – Saint-Emilion’s “bad boy”. Today the style of the wine is much more restrained, and officially classified as a Premier Grand Cru Classé B estate.