The structured, pure, focused 2006 Valandraud offers hints of white chocolate, coffee beans, black currants, cherries, and underlying camphor as well as earth. Outstanding ripeness, medium body, and a highly structured, tannic style is broodingly backward at present.
Reviews:
- Wine Advocate: The structured, pure, focused 2006 Valandraud offers hints of white chocolate, coffee beans, black currants, cherries, and underlying camphor as well as earth. Outstanding ripeness, medium body, and a highly structured, tannic style is broodingly backward at present. It tasted as if malolactic had only recently been completed, so I suspect it will put on weight and perform even better in 3-6 months.
- James Suckling: This was considered a great, great vintage in northern California, but not all wines have aged well. This one is a powerful mouthful of very direct, ripe berry fruit flavours that still seem young and aromas of spice and blackberry. (EM)
Producer Information
Château de Valandraud is a producer in Saint-Émilion classified as Premier Grand Cru Classé B. The Merlot-dominant grand vin is part of a relatively large portfolio which includes a number of red wines made from the classic Bordeaux blend, as well as a couple of white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. The estate was formed in 1989, when wine merchant Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud (who has been the fulltime winemaker since 2008) bought a 0.6-hectare (1.5-acre) plot of vines near Château Pavie Macquin. There are now 10 hectares (25 acres) of vines. Merlot is the predominant variety, followed by Cabernet Franc and small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Carmenère. The 2ha (5 acres) planted to white varieties are split evenly between Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Sauvignon Gris. Château de Valandraud is regarded as one of Bordeaux’s pioneering “garagiste” wines, made in a richer, more international style than many other Bordeaux wines. It has attracted high prices in the region from the very beginning, despite its initial St Emilion Grand Cru status – a rather commonplace designation in this particular region.
