Description
93+ / 100
Neal Martin, Vinous
The 2017 Valandraud is very deep in colour. The nose is very intense with black cherries, blueberry, fig jam and black olive compote, nicely defined but perhaps intending to close down for two or three years. The palate is medium-bodied with supple, fleshy tannins. There is a mixture of red and black fruit laced with black pepper and truffle, sweet and velvety towards the precocious finish that you might mistake for a 2018. Very sensual, but afford it several year in bottle.
Valandraud is painstakingly hand made in new, mainly Seguin Moreau, oak barrels by the guru of the garagistes Jean-Luc Thunevin and his wife Murielle. First produced in 1991 (just 1900 bottles) with the help of Ausone's Alain Vauthier, this was the first of the "Garage Wines" of Saint Emilion and is still the benchmark by which all others are judged. Previously seen as an "outsider", Valandraud was awarded Premier Grand Cru Classé status in the 2012 classification of the wines of Saint Emilion.
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