Château Valandraud Saint-Emilion 2018 - 1er Grand Cru Classé B

Decanter

About wine:

From the first sniff, you discover a rich and refined fruitiness. This is an accomplished and powerful Valandraud, offering seductive and appealing notes of burnt caramel and pencil lead against rich black cherry and plum fruit. Full maturity through to the finish, with beautiful fruit concentration. This is a great wine, confident and sure to please. (2026 - 2042)

Guide Hachette des vins

About wine:

Aged for two years in barrels, this wine boasts richness and a robust structure. But its substance is matched by an unstoppable smoothness, delicious notes of perfectly ripe black fruits, and great freshness. The tannins are solid yet silky and superbly integrated, revealing great skill and dedication. A confident style for a bottle you can trust.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the estate:

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

About wine:

A hint of truffle, roasted notes, mocha, a touch of toast and undergrowth... All the passion of Thunevin winemaking goes into this vintage. Warm as hell with slightly sticky tannins.

About the estate:

Created from scratch by Jean-Luc Thunevin and his wife Muriel in the early 1990s, Valandraud is a remarkable success story, the kind that only the social ladder of the right bank can offer in Bordeaux. Built on a single hectare of vines in Saint-Emilion, the estate, which now covers 10 hectares in the commune of Saint-Etienne-de-Lisse, has established itself as one of the most expensive and sought-after in Bordeaux. The strong character of its owner and, above all, his keen business sense have played a major role in this success. But today, it is the contents of the Valandraud bottle that attract lovers of this astonishing, exotic wine, which is sensual at birth and also ages very well. Although it was the leader of the garage wine movement, Valandraud is no longer the size it once was. Nevertheless, the methods have not changed; the vineyard remains one of the best maintained in Bordeaux and the wine continues to benefit from Jean-Luc Thunevin's expertise.

Yves Beck

About wine:

Château Valandraud still has that woody note that it displays from the outset, but the more the vintages pass, the more it manifests itself in a balanced way. It is complemented, and surpassed, by nuances of black berries. The rich flavors on the palate are perfectly highlighted and supported by a sharp, chiseled acidity that adds zest, while the smooth, fine-grained tannins surprise with their ability to impart power. This wine reveals itself very slowly on the palate, like many of the great wines of 2019. What energy, what power, and what flavor! When charm is transformed into boldness, sweetness becomes energizing! This is certainly one of the greatest Valandrauds of the last ten years. (2026-2049)

Jean-Marc Quarin

About wine:

Dark, intense, purple color. Very aromatic nose, both subtle and powerful. Mellow on the attack, rich and full-bodied on the palate, complex too, the wine gains deep nuances on the finish, with flavor and a subtle touch of oak. It's very good.

Vert de Vin

About wine:

The nose is elegant, distinguished, beautifully crafted, and offers power, a lovely finesse of grain, and a subtle velvety quality. There are notes of ripe wild blackcurrant, blackberry, violet and, more subtly, small fleshy fruits combined with hints of raspberry, cherry blossom, nutmeg and small touches of tonka bean, pepper, blond tobacco, a very discreet hint of saffron (in the background) and toast. The palate is fresh, fruity and balanced, offering a juicy/finely acidic texture, minerality, beautiful finesse of grain, structure, definition, power and a certain aromatic purity. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of pulpy/juicy blackcurrant, juicy blackberry and, more subtly, violet, juicy/bright blueberry, juicy raspberry, combined with hints of juicy/fresh redcurrant, lilac, lily, and hints of chocolate/tonka bean, toast, nutmeg, cardamom, blond tobacco, a subtle hint of Sichuan pepper, and an imperceptible hint of saffron, coffee, and bourbon vanilla pod. The tannins are beautifully fine and supple. A wine full of delicacy and sensitivity! Congratulations!

Anthocyanes - Yohan Castaing

About wine:

Clearly favoring oak, Château Valandraud 2018 impresses with its dense and complex nose. On the palate, it is dense, with structured tannins that are still young and marked acidity that gives it tension. However, it remains slightly marked by oak, a sensation that should be eliminated with aging. Drink by 2038.