Château Valandraud 2001

As hard as it may be to believe, Valandraud’s 2001 is better than their 2000. One of the great efforts from proprietors Murielle Andraud and Jean-Luc Thunevin, the 2001 Valandraud boasts a saturated plum/purple color as well as a sumptuously sweet nose of Varhona chocolate intertwined with espresso roast, blackberries, cherry jam, and currants. Full-bodied, opulent, voluptuously textured, pure, rich, and seriously endowed, this is a brilliant effort from Bordeaux’s leading revolutionary. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020. By the way, the kosher cuvee of this wine merits 91-92 points. It is undeniably the finest kosher wine I have ever tasted.

Modern, dark red with lots of new oak and black licorice character. Full-bodied, with a medium finish. Some might find this a little overdone with the oak, but it's impressive. Turns slightly short. Not as impressive as from barrel, but very good. Best after 2008. 1,000 cases made.

Oxidised nose. Loose and dusty and over the top on the nose and then very tough on the finish. Oak tincture. (JR)

Just like Murielle Thunevin, this sensous Bordeaux wine keeps getting better with age. Filled with a rich, chocolate, licorice and ripe black, jammy fruit explosion. this opulent textured wine is for hedonists. Still young, this wonderful wine will get better with age.

One of the biggest, richest wines in the vintage, the 2001 Château Valandraud is now fully mature yet brings incredible depth and richness. Sweet black fruits, chocolate, spice, flowery incense, and tobacco notes are just some of its nuances, and this beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a deep, layered mouthfeel, velvety tannins, and incredible length on the finish. Hats off to the team of Murielle Andraud and Jean-Luc Thunevin for another sensational wine. While fully mature, it's going to change dramatically over the coming decade or so and should have a gradual decline. This opulent, sexy, majestic 2001 is something to behold.

Violet-black in color, rich, almost opaque. The nose is lavish, with blackcurrant and blackberry notes—peppery, concentrated and deep—along with dark woods and subtle, smoky Merlot nuances. On the palate too, blue- and black-berry fruit, a velvety texture with rich, rolling tannins, pervasive astringency, muscle and power, yet also showing finesse. A blend of the brilliant 1995 and the 1998. Or is Valandraud 2001 shaping up to be the best wine of the vintage?

02: Production: 12,700 bottles. In the past, the blend always consisted of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc (except for the 1998 vintage, when Merlot and Cabernet Franc were blended fifty-fifty). For the 2001, a new mix has been used: 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 2.5% Cabernet Sauvignon and even 2.5% Malbec. Deep, dense purple with a violet sheen. Ripe blueberry and blackcurrant bouquet, violets, lots of perfumed Merlot with chocolate notes; feels well knit and already very complex, broad and expansive. Full, rich palate, an enormous amount of black berries in a lush, dense extract, liquorice, plantain and huge blueberry fruit; substantial astringency, muscular, powerful; the well-supporting tannins are slightly reminiscent of the certainly also long-lived 1994. This year it’s keen again to compete with the very greatest, after the 2000 Valandraud didn’t quite belong to the elite. The basis for that claim may also lie in yields, since Valandraud 2001 was produced at 27 hl/ha (39 hl/ha last year). Overall, a very late harvest; the last Cabernet Sauvignon, a 300-are parcel, was picked on October 22. Those were then the very last red-wine grapes of the 2001 vintage in all of Bordeaux. (18/20). 06: Very dark, deep purple, still with a lilac shimmer. Open bouquet: damson plums, coffee, fine woods, cedar; still closed, but indicating great depth. Firm, dense and spicy on the palate, with plenty of blue-to-black berries, a hint of currants, black tea; as strong as the 98 and one of the most promising Valandrauds. (18/20). 16: Production volume: 12,700 bottles. Intense, dark purple with near-black highlights. Open bouquet, leaning more towards Cabernet and showing a nuance of rock candy, Sichuan pepper and Californian prunes. Has power and elegance at once. Comes across a little more feminine than other Valandrauds, and the word “finesse” can certainly be considered here. (18/20). 22: Double magnum. Mature purple with a pronounced outer rim. Intense bouquet, almost heady, still clearly conveying toasted barrel notes and aromas of dark bread crust; the fruit behind it smells alluringly sweet (red currant pastilles) and perhaps also slightly stewed. On the palate it shows a very dense extract, hazelnut pralines and a subtly mealy flow. From a vinification standpoint, the limits were pushed here, and it could be described as a rebel—which it indeed was at the time. Standing out at any price was the motto back then. Somehow, its strict upbringing still makes it feel blocked and restrained in its flow. For a wine over 20 years old, it therefore seems a little underdeveloped. (18/20).

A great deal of finesse in texture and pedigree for this magnificent wine with a deep body, rich and spicy, with excellent fresh length and finely aromatic.

The wine shows a deep color. The generous, full, powerful palate reveals a flattering, seductive texture thanks to noticeable oak, which brings spicy aromas, structure, and sweetness. The finish is long, full, and enticing: it’s truly tempting to drink now, yet it will age well for another ten years.

Promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé, and rightly so. Valandraud 2001 is a full-bodied, rich, powerful, oaky wine, with lovely substance and fine tannins, and aromas of great personality.

Logo on the cork: CC Dark colour, with normal intensity and some development. Subtle nose, with ripe fruit. Quite refined. While the palate starts out mellow and becomes flavoursome, the wine is marked by tannins on the finish, along with a touch of bitterness.