Château Valandraud 2021

In Bordeaux, there was one man who broke all the rules and created wines that kept industry giants on their toes.  His name was Jean-Luc Thunevin.  His wine? Château Valandraud.  Though an undeniably excellent wine, Château Valandraud is important not simply because of the contents in the bottle but because of the story behind it.  It was a wine that changed a lot of established traditions in Bordeaux -- a wine for oenophiles and renegades alike.

Château Valandraud is the home property of the dynamic husband and wife duo Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud.  Prior to becoming a vigneron Jean-Luc was a successful négociant.  In 1989, Jean-Luc and Murielle purchased a tiny 0.6-hectare plot close to Château Pavie Macquin.  They bought an additional 1.2 hectares of vines further east in Saint Sulpice.  The name “Valandraud” is an interesting one.  The “Val” portion comes from where the grapes are planted, a place called Vallon de Fongaban.  The latter part of the name, “Andraud,” is the last name of Jean-Luc’s wife, Murielle.  Murielle is the gifted individual who makes all the wine for Château Valandraud, and Jean-Luc runs the business and is the face of the operation.

Château Valandraud was the property that started the Garagiste movement in modern winemaking.  Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle started their winemaking operation with virtually no money, so they made their first few vintages in a garage, hence the name Garagiste.  Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud started breaking the rules fairly early on.  In the 2002 vintage, Jean-Luc covered his vines with plastic tarping to protect them from potential water damage during the rainy season before harvest.  The French National Institute of Appellations forbade this practice and declassified his wine as a table wine in retaliation.  They also forbade Jean-Luc and Murielle from putting their name on the bottles.  No matter for the plucky power couple, as they simply sold their wines as "L’Interdit de V…D."  The label literally translates as "The Forbidden of V & D." Its use was pioneered by the fashion house Givenchy as a brand for a new perfume launched in 1957.  Who is to be fooled?  Everybody who knew Château Valandraud knew this clever labeling hack would be their way of skirting around the rules and regulations.  This earned Jean-Luc the title of the Bad Boy, of Saint-Émilion.

The plantings of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Carmenere thrive in clay and limestone terroir.  Château Valandraud also produces a white wine, which comes from a 2-hectare plot planted with Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Sauvignon Gris.  The wine is vinified depending on the needs of each varietal, and the materials vary from temperature-controlled wooden vats, stainless steel, or concrete fermenters.  Everything at Château Valandraud is specialized to create the best wine possible, and the techniques are working – Château Valandraud was classified as a Premiere Grand Cru Classé Class B estate in 2012, joining the ranks of Château Figeac and Château Troplong Mondot.  Without a doubt, Château Valandraud produces not one but a series of world-class wines that cater to the oenophile and rule breaker in all of us.  

"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 of the palate gives grip and length. Even a touch of creaminess to the blackberry and blueberry fruits 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). 29hl/h yield, 3.5ph. Tasted twice." - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux, (12/07/2023), Ratings: 96, Drink: 2026-2042

"The 2021 Valandraud is sumptuous, dark and enveloping to the core, even it some of the underlying contours need time to soften. Black cherry, plum, mocha, new leather and spice gain intensity in the glass. The rich, heady style is classic Valandraud, tempered by the distinctive qualities of the 2021 vintage." - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, (02/28/2024), Ratings: 95

"Tasted on multiple occasions, the 2021 Château Valandraud is based on 85% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon. It's a serious wine in the vintage and has a dense purple hue to go with brilliant aromatics of ripe blackberries, currants, smoked tobacco, graphite, and an undeniable sense of minerality. This ripe, medium to full-bodied 2021 has a layered, balanced mouthfeel, nicely integrated background oak, more mid-palate depth than just about every other wine in the vintage, and a gorgeous finish. It will benefit from 3-5 years of bottle age and drink well for 15+ years." Jeb Dunnuck, Bordeaux 2021 From Bottle, (04/03/2024), Ratings: 94+, Drink: 2027-2045

"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."