Jean-Luc Thunevin - Présidial 2005

Guide des Vins Gault & Millau

About the estate:

Owned by the Thunevin family, Clos Badon is located in the commune of Saint-Emilion. Part of the Thunevin portfolio since 1998, it covers 6.5 hectares planted on sandy-gravelly soil, with a grape variety composition that gives pride of place to Merlot. It is from this same terroir that the Valandraud wines are made, including Château de Valandraud, which in a way helped launch the trend for the famous "garage wines." The effervescent Jean-Luc Thunevin, who now reigns over a good twenty hectares in the Bordeaux region, still has several tricks up his sleeve; his Bad Boy (95% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc) should, in principle, also include Grenache or Carignan from... Maury, in Roussillon, all under the Vin de Pays de France appellation! No doubt it's only a matter of time.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the estate:

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the estate:

Few châteaux can boast of being as controversial as this one. The dazzling success of Valandraud, founded by Jean-Luc Thunevin in the early 1990s, is as irritating as it is fascinating. How did the wines from this unremarkable estate, built from scratch on a single hectare of vines in Saint-Emilion, manage to establish themselves in less than two decades to the point where they are now among the most expensive and sought-after in Bordeaux? The personality of its owner, his talents as a taster and winemaker, and his keen business sense provide much of the answer. However, the contents of the bottle should not be overlooked: Valandraud, an exotic and sensual wine at birth, also ages very well. Although it was the leader of the garage wine movement, Valandraud is no longer part of it today. With its 10 hectares located in the commune of Saint-Etienne-de-Lisse, it exceeds many of the region's estates in terms of surface area. Nevertheless, the methods have not changed, the vineyard remains one of the best maintained in all of Bordeaux, and the wine continues to benefit from Jean-Luc Thunevin's expertise.