2017 Château Valandraud
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Tasting notes
A success in a cooler vintage that is offering a real moment of pleasure right now. This is packed with juicy black fruits, layered and nuanced with liqourice and spiced plum, with a crayon and salted cracker finish that showcases the cool clay-limestone soils of Valandraud's vineyard site. This feels vivid and full of life, and as ever I'm a fan of Valandraud in years where nature puts the breaks of what is, as I described it when tasting in bottle years ago, 'Thunevin's irrepresible nod towards exuberance'. 100% new oak.
Critic scores
James Suckling
Wine Spectator
More reviews and scores
Tasted blind. Deep ruby colour. Smoky, meaty fruit on the nose here. Quite distinctive and ripe. Fleshy and ripe on the palate, this is bold and structured without being overworked. Muscular and dark fruited, there is a lingering liquorice flavour on a long, slightly dry finish. It will need a few years to settle. (TP)
One of the stars of the vintage, the 2017 Valandraud has turned out even better than I expected. It was magnificent in two separate tastings. Deep and sumptuous, the 2017 possesses off-the-charts intensity and power. Dark red cherry, red plum, chocolate, licorice and spice build as this explosive wine shows off its personality. There are only a few wines in 2017 that are truly exciting and viscerally thrilling. Valandraud is one of them. Don't miss it!
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.