Château Valandraud 2019

[ En Primeur Scores 2019: 89-90 ] A silky, refined tannin in a mid-season suit, ready to strut alongside a veal tenderloin.

Powerful, full-bodied, extract-rich wine with velvety tannins and a clear oak imprint; very much in the estate’s style: fire, extract, substance. 15.5

Richly textured, featuring cashmere-like waves of dark plum, cassis and blackberry compote flavors that glide through and are laced with light violet, anise and black tea notes. The rumble of tannins can be heard on the finish, but for the vintage, this is extremely suave in the end. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2025 through 2040. 2,900 cases made.

Highly charged and high-toned on the nose, abundant and seriously expressive. Lovely intensity here; tannins are mouth-coating and super persistent, yet there’s excellent depth with such concentrated fruit flavours, so well balanced by acidity and soft wood spice at the edges. A bold wine for sure, with tons of flavour and personality, and excellent freshness throughout with minerality and wet stone nuances. One to age, but delivering excellent clarity and confidence. A top buy.

Vivid and focused, with bright, clear fruit. Dried flowers, too. Full-bodied, with layers of fine, soft tannins that spread across the palate, showing class and refinement. It goes on for minutes. A beautiful bottle. Try after 2027, but already very attractive.

90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Barrel sample. Deep purple-black hue. Modern and exotic with dark fruit and spice notes. Lots of extract, the palate full, round, plush and gourmand. Big, chewy tannins but bound by the fruit and the whole in balance. Good length. (JL)

Scoring at the top of the range, this is a majestic vintage of Valandraud that is packed and stacked with waves of inky, purple colored, black cherries, plums, mint, espresso, cocoa, licorice, flowers and crushed rocks. Full-bodied, rich, intense, opulent, complex and with a fruit-filled, velvet-textured, non-stop finish, this is already a treat in your glass. Drink from 2026-2055.

Deep dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, delicate bright rim. Fine touch of noble wood, black cherries, a hint of liquorice, fresh orange zest. Juicy, black berries, fresh and full of energy, integrated tannins, mineral-salty finish, long length, certain ageing potential.

Inky dark purple colour with a viscous texture. Polished and layered nose with an abundance of fresh dark berries, cassis, violet, black truffle, coffee bean, fine oak and spice box. The palate has massive concentration without heaviness, with bright underlying acidity, super-refined tannins, never-ending layers of vivid dark fruit, fine spices and tobacco notes, with seamless oak integration and an impressive length and finish. Tremendously good and potent.

The local bad boy of Bordeaux, Jean-Luc Thunevin, continues to fashion truly brilliant wines, and his 2019 is no exception. Based largely on Merlot with a small amount of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2019 Château Valandraud is a deep purple-hued beauty offering up a kaleidoscope-like bouquet of black and blue fruits, scorched earth, chocolate, gravelly earth, spicy oak, and sappy flowers. Deep, rich, full-bodied, and wonderfully concentrated, it has insane purity of fruit, brilliant tannins, a stacked mid-palate, and just has everything in the right places. It's up with the top wines of the vintage and a tour de force that readers should snatch up. It shows a very different style than the sexier 2018, but it's every bit as good. It needs 4-5 years of bottle age and will evolve for 2-3 decades.

Opaque purple with a violet rim. What concentration! Ripe Alpine blueberries, a bouquet of violets, Burley tobacco. On the second pass, stewed plum compote and Tahitian vanilla. On the densely interwoven palate, this powerhouse impresses with a tight, demanding tannic corset, fleshy extract, and silky texture. In the focused finish, a long blueberry-tinged crescendo with exotic woods and perfumed pipe tobacco. This is top-class, modern St.-Émilion with tremendous aging potential. Chapeau, Jean-Luc Thunevin!

Kunz barrel sample 2020: (90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5% alc./vol., production 40,000 bottles) Concentrated, velvety, sweet, delicately opulent bouquet, red and blue berries, blueberries, tobacco, mocha cream, chocolate. Powerful, elegant, dense palate with intense fruit, plenty of fine tannins, concentrated structure, vibrant, fresh aromatics, long, aromatic, peppery finish. Still has room to improve.

(90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5% ABV, production 40,000 bottles) Concentrated, velvety, sweet, delicately opulent bouquet, red and blue berries, blueberries, tobacco, mocha cream, chocolate. Powerful, elegant, dense palate with intense fruit, plenty of fine tannins, concentrated structure, vibrant, fresh aromatics, long, aromatic, peppery finish. Can still improve. 18/20 2026 - 2050

This is gorgeous. There is high alcohol here and you do feel a slight trace of heat, but it is met by fruit that rises to fill in every step through the palate, along with cocoa beans, chocolate shavings, plum, boysenberry, loganberry, all textured, welcoming, juicy fruits of autumn, alongside cigar box, cold ash, shot through with smoke and bitter chocolate. So good.

The 2019 Valandraud, made from 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, is deep garnet-purple in color. Oak notes dominate on the nose to begin, giving way to a core of baked black cherries, dried mulberries, and boysenberry preserves, plus a suggestion of Chinese five spice. The full-bodied palate delivers decadent, mouth-coating black fruits with a firm, grainy texture and a racy backbone, finishing long and layered. Allow it another 4–5 years in the cellar and drink it over the next 20+ years.

An unusual bouquet of stewed plums with vanilla and caramel notes. The palate is more than opulent, with monumental tannins framing rich, ripe fruit.

Valandraud always shows that oaky note right from the start, but as the vintages pass it appears in a more measured way. It is complemented—and even surpassed—by shades of black berries. The palate’s flavor richness is ideally highlighted and supported by a sharp, chiselled acidity that brings drive, while the silky, fine-grained tannins surprise with their ability to deliver power. This wine unfolds very slowly on the palate, like many great wines in 2019. What energy, what power, and what sapidity. When charm can be switched into boldness, sweetness becomes energizing! This is certainly one of the greatest Valandraud of the last ten years.

The nose is elegant, delicate, gourmand, precise, racy, and offers power and a subtle freshness. It reveals notes of ripe/juicy boysenberry, juicy wild blackcurrant and, more slightly, wild raspberry, combined with touches of tangy small red fruits and cornflower, as well as hints of toasty notes, nutmeg, tonka bean, and a sense of place (terroir). The palate is elegant, finely defined, and offers lovely precision, a tangy backbone, smoothness, and a touch of freshness. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of juicy/tangy blackberry, fleshy/tangy blackcurrant and, more slightly, raspberry, combined with touches of cornflower, fleshy small fruits, as well as hints of purple plum, nutmeg, cardamom, and chocolate. Good length. The tannins are elegant, well-handled, and structuring. A very discreet hint of chocolate lingers on the finish.

Logo on the cork: CB Dark, intense, and beautiful color. Highly aromatic nose, delicate, fruity, pure, and ripe. Delicate on the attack, very juicy mid-palate, powerful, the wine caresses the palate with cherry flavors and exemplary oak. Very long finish.

98–100. Barrel Sample. This is a dense and luscious wine, the best yet from this estate. Its great structure and tannins show a style that is powerful but all within. This is a magnificent vintage from this Premier Grand Cru Classé estate, and fully deserves to be aged for many years.