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  • Country ranking ?

    510
  • Producer ranking ?

    6
  • Decanting time

    4h
  • When to drink

    2020-2035
  • Food Pairing

    Beef

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The Story

In 1989, Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud became the proud owners of a small plot of land of 0,6 ha, in the valley of Saint Emilion, between Pavie Macquin and La Clotte. In 1991 they produced and bottled their first vintage. Since then, their estate portfolio has grown with properties in Saint Christophe des Bardes, Saint Sulpice de Faleyrens or Saint Etienne de Lisse.

In the early days, wine critics nicknamed their production « garag...

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Vintage 2020

In Bordeaux, the heat led to early flowering. Additionally, this led to an early harvest after a very hot summer. As a starting point, there is great maturity in the grapes, and we can expect a more opulent vintage than in recent years.

This year's summer was the hottest since 1959, but the rain fell at just the right time during the growing season. The harvest took place two weeks before the norm and will produce grapes with high alcohol p...

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Tasting note

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Written Notes

Dark purple colour with violet hue and black core. Opulent yet elegant nose with fine toasting aroma reminiscent of dark chocolate, mocha and discreet hints of smoke, complemented by refined floral hints, noble spiciness with vanilla, cardamom and cloves as well as rich fruit e.g. sweet elderberries, black cherries and blackberries. On the palate rich and complex with polished tannins, opulent fruit an discreet floral hints quoting the flavour of the nose. A great Valandraud. 

  • 98p

Cask sample. Overtly oaky on the nose, with layers of toast and smoke. It's a very flattering style (perhaps deliberately, for this en primeur sample?) and the fruit definitely plays second fiddle to the oak. Even so, that fruit is ripe, attractive and plush. If the oak integrates more, which it likely will, then this has a lot going for it.

  • 92p

Château Valandraud 2020 Barrel Sample (Saint-Émilion); 96–98 points. This wine from the premier classé estate is seriously structured, dense and firm. At the same time the beautiful black currant fruits, acidity and fine perfumed character balance its richness. It is an impressive, memorable wine that will develop well over many years.

  • 98p

Winemaker Jean-Luc Thunevin has hit a home run in the vintage, and his 2020 Château Valandraud is unquestionably up with the crème de la crème out there. Made in a ripe, sexy, plush style, it brings an incredible amount of ripe black fruit, chocolate, vanilla, espresso, and leafy herb-like aromas and flavors. This carries to a full-bodied, powerful Saint-Emilion that somehow stays weightless and graceful on the palate, with moderate acidity, ripe tannins, and a great, great finish.

  • 99p

Valandraud PGCC "B" – very classy nose of high-quality black cherries and fresh coffee beans, excellent purity, precision and focus, great complexity and fabulous structure, sophisticated touch, and great length. It makes a beautiful addition to 2018 and 2019 vintages! Highly impressive. 98p.

 

  • 98p

2020 Château Valandraud
MAY 21 Ruby. Blackberries, blueberries, truffles, vanilla, chocolate, vanilla, detailed, floral nose, nuanced. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, dark fruits, detailed, liquorice, minerals, nuanced, dense yet bright, incredible depth, layered, long indeed. 97-99

  • 99p

Full, embossed bottle 1,360 g. Undated cask sample. 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged for 24 months in 100% new oak!
Lustrous blackish purple. Strong nose of charred meat. This is distinctive all right… Very intense, concentrated sweet purple-fruit flavours. Cassis compote? Chock-full of ambition though the acidity on the finish makes it a less comfortable drink than many of its peers. It seems all scrunched up with ambition with a rather drying finish. It may well flower beautifully eventually but it's at a much more embryonic phase than many of its peers. Rather Pavie-ish at this point.

  • 88p
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Origin

St. Emilion, Bordeaux
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