Blanc de Valandraud 2021

Gorgeous nose, perfumed peach, pear and floral notes – so appealing and welcoming. Graceful and charming on the palate, this has depth of flavour with a lovely core of juicy white fruits, with a steely saltiness giving it that push-pull of fruit and minerality. This has character – it’s not a massively weighty wine but has precision and refinement, presenting the elements delicately yet with structure and frame. The flavours linger and they are all perfectly balanced. I love the shot of lemon, bitter orange and cool stone saline touches. Both the red and white grand vins are delicious and successful in 2021.

This shows aromas of smoked almonds, crushed stones, fennel, lavender, cedar and orange curd. It’s flinty, subtly spicy and medium- to full-bodied, with bright acidity. Mineral and elegant finish. Drink or hold.

Honeysuckle, white flowers, green apples, lemon peel and pomelo notes are everywhere here on the nose and on the palate. Vibrant, energetic and lush, the finish lingers with crisp citrus flavors and a flamboyant character. The wine blends 50% Sauvignon Gris, 35% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Semillon. A year of aging has added a lot to this wine. Drink from 2024-2035.

The 2021 Château Valandraud Blanc is brilliant stuff and offers a gorgeous perfume of honeyed limes, mint, spicy herbs, and just a kiss of background oak. With medium-bodied richness, a focused, chiseled texture, and a gorgeous finish, it does everything right. It has bright acidity and rock-solid concentration and will benefit from a year or three in the cellar and have a decade or more of longevity.

50% Sauvignon Gris, 35% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Sémillon, 13% ABV, production of 3,500 bottles. Dense bouquet, ripe grapefruit, lemon balm, cooled green tea and refined minerality. Concentrated palate with a creamy texture, perfectly balanced acidity, splendid extract richness and medium body. Focused finish with a perfect symbiosis of finesse and power, a noble saline note paired with a delicate chalky touch.

A delicious wine with supple and mouthwatering juice on the finish, mango, slate and white peach met step by step by clear salinity and fresh juicy citrus. Great quality, strikes a welcoming gourmet note in the vintage. September 7-20, 80% new oak, 20% jars.

A subtle lemon blossom nose heralds a precise, racy palate with beautiful minerality and plenty of finesse. A real delight, true to the vintage.

Quite tropical at first glance, the bouquet of Valandraud shows a promising range with notes of mango, passion fruit, and flowers. Saline on the attack, the wine is linear, balanced, and well supported by its acidic structure. This lends a mouthwatering, refreshing character, while also giving it the potential to spend some time in the cellar… although it will likely be drunk sooner. And that’s perfectly fine!

The nose is fresh, elegant, precise, racy, and offers a delicate fleshy feel in freshness, gourmandise, and a certain finesse. It reveals notes of pulpy/fresh apple, crushed nectarine and, more lightly, citrus, combined with fine hints of zest, kumquat, a subtle almost exotic-fruit nuance, crushed small fruits, and a subtle, almost crunchy mineral touch. The palate is fruity, pulpy, fresh, elegant, and offers lovely definition, gourmandise, finesse, a touch of fine creaminess, a lovely tangy spine, roundness, a certain subtle tension, elegance, and energy/dynamism. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of pulpy/juicy apple, ripe/pulpy lemon and, more lightly, crisp peach, combined with a delicate touch of pineapple, zest, a discreet hint of lime, and a subtle sapid/saline note on the finish/persistence. Good length.

Greenish-yellow colour. An intense, fruity nose with lovely hints of Amalfi Coast lemon. A delightful, finely detailed texture right from the attack. Very tasty through the mid-palate, with a silky body; the wine develops in a dynamic, fresh, juicy style while still offering sap and energy on the finish. Long and really excellent. The best Valandraud Blanc I’ve tasted.

Sports a friendly brioche edge, along with yellow apple, fennel seed and mirabelle plum notes. Juicy, focused finish. Sauvignon Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. Drink now through 2025. 250 cases made.

The 2021 Valandraud Blanc has a well-defined bouquet with yellow plum, kaki fruit and light crushed stone aromas, touches of smoke in the background. The palate is fresh and vibrant with a fine bead of acidity and a hint of sour lemon. Grapefruit and pineapple notes grace the satisfying finish. Excellent.

A blend of 50% Sauvignon Gris, 35% Sauvignon Blanc, and 15% Sémillon, the white 2021 Valandraud needs a lot of swirling to unlock notes of white peaches, lemon curd, lime blossoms, and juicy pears, followed by wafts of cedar and elderflower. The medium-bodied palate has fantastic intensity and tension, with wonderfully pure flavors and a satiny texture, finishing with great length.