Château Valandraud 2021

Multi-layered, finely scented, with roasted notes, blackcurrant, cherry, chocolate, and pronounced minerality. Powerful on the palate, high-quality tannins, the acidity provides freshness. Shows its usual power, but without the extra padding often found. Has plenty in reserve.

The 2021 Valandraud offers up aromas of minty berries framed by a generous application of creamy new oak. Medium to full-bodied, with a creamy attack that segues into a mid-palate built around chalky barrel tannins, it concludes with a vanillin-inflected and discreetly herbal finish. This showed more harmoniously en primeur than in bottle.

Boasts a blackberry and black currant fruit core that belies the vintage’s generally light persona, while a chalky structure and notes of sweet tobacco and bay leaf fill in nicely through the finish. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2036. 2,000 cases made, 400 cases imported.

Perfumed and potent on the nose with wood and toasted notes. Lively on the palate, with a shot of tangy acidity and high-toned raspberry fruit before green peppercorn and clove spice; the wood is still clearly present and dominating for now, but this feels very well thought out with good aging potential.

Black berry, pine nut, bark and dark mushroom aromas follow through to a medium body with creamy tannins that caress the palate and give a complexity and subtlety at the finish. Extremely fine velvety texture here. A beauty for the vintage. Drink in three or four years.

The 2021 Valandraud is quite backward on the nose, more so than Virginie at the moment, leaning toward red rather than black fruit. Loam and potpourri scents eventually emerge. The palate is medium-bodied with an uncharacteristically low-key entry, but the acidity is finely tuned and it feels elegant and natural. Not pushing too hard created a delicious Valandraud that will drink well for a number of years.

One of the top wines of the appellation offers an intense nose of flowers, licorice, chocolate-coated black cherries, smoke, cedar, and mint. With a dark garnet color, the wine is plush, polished, silky, and loaded with sweet, dark, ripe, deliciously expressive fruit. The blend is 85% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink from 2025–2048.

Deep dark garnet with purple reflections at the rim. Fine noble wood nuances, a touch of cedar, blackberries, ripe cherries; an inviting bouquet. Juicy, fresh blackberries, a little liquorice, fresh acidity, hints of coconut and vanilla, mineral finish; shows ageing potential and finesse.

Kunz barrel sample 2022: (85% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29 hl/ha, 13.5% vol. alcohol, production 25,000 bottles) Silky, fruity, dense, creamy, powerful bouquet, blueberries, strawberry jelly, cedar, currants, mocha, slate. Dense, multi-layered, powerful palate with plenty of fine tannins, a concentrated, muscular structure, varied, intense aromatics, generous fruit, very long, slightly drying finish.

(85% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29 hl/ha, 13.5% alc. vol., production 25,000 bottles) Velvety, fruity, dense, creamy, powerful bouquet, blueberries, strawberry jelly, cedar, currants, mocha, slate. Dense, multi-layered, powerful palate with plenty of fine tannin, a concentrated, muscular structure, varied, vigorous aromatics, powerful fruit, a very long, slightly drying finish. 18/20 2029 - 2050

One of my highest scores for a red wine En Primeur, and it continues to be extremely successful, with a richness and concentration to the fruit that makes it stand out. The oak smokiness is evident, but with enough balance that it will clearly soften and integrate over the next five to six years, and the slate and crushed rock texture on the palate gives grip and length. Even a touch of creaminess to the blackberry and blueberry fruit as it opens. 100% new oak (my earlier EP note read: This is a vintage where you need the warm hug of a softly smoked oak barrel, and Thunevin knows how to administer it). 29 hl/ha yield, pH 3.5. Tasted twice.

Valandraud 2021 has a medium to deep garnet-purple color. It rolls out with ready-to-go notes of juicy blackberries, fresh plums, and Bing cherries, leading to touches of lilacs and licorice. The medium-bodied palate has a great intensity of lively black fruits, with firm, grainy tannins and a long, savory finish.

The 2021 vintage does not align with Valandraud’s pursuit of concentration and richness. On the contrary, it is a year of medium-bodied texture. We perceive insistent notes of mocha, smoke, and toasty oak from the élevage, contributing to a restrained aromatic profile. The palate is refined, dressed by the enveloping élevage—the signature of Thuvenin’s touch—with matter that is more about linearity than breadth, leading to a firm finish often encountered in Saint-Émilion that year. It will open up relatively early over the next few years.

Deep and masculine on the nose, with a woody, contemplative scent of sandalwood and rosemary, then flowers. Velvety and caressing on the palate, it has substance, with a freshness that is felt on the inside of the cheeks.

The finesse heralded by Virginie de Valandraud naturally raises expectations… which Château Valandraud meets with composure! The bouquet’s complexity and its ability to shine in delicate filigree through myriad nuances set the tone. Smooth and slightly creamy on the attack, the wine offers velvety tannins that deliver energy and potential. The limestone character of the terroir brings liveliness and freshness. The wine thus shows temperament and a saline touch on the finish. Harmonious and precise, it displays a linear, persistent character. A great success in a demanding vintage!

Dark, deep purple colour. Highly aromatic nose, fruity, ripe, subtle and powerful. Soft on the attack, velvety mid-palate; the wine unfolds generously, caressing the palate, leading to a long, flavourful finish with well-wrapped tannins and abundant flavour. Blend: 85% merlot, 9% cabernet franc, 6% cabernet sauvignon. Alcohol: 13.5%. Yield: 28 hl/ha.