Decanter: 95 Punkte
"Created by Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud initially from a tiny 0.6ha plot (now 10.7ha), Valandraud leapt from 'garage wine' with its first vintage in 1991 to St-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé B in the 2012 classification. The estate now benefits from a bioclimatic cellar completed in 2020 in the cooler plateau area of St-Etienne-de-Lisse, part of their extensive Right Bank holdings. The wines are aged entirely in new oak barrels, with Christophe Lardière overseeing the vineyard team and Rémi Dalmasso the cellar master. Georgie Hindle: High-octane aromas, blackcurrant and cherry. Supple and generous palate but also mineral, with a salty, graphite grip. Juicy acidity counters the upfront tannins. Arthur Coggill: A really interesting nose, lots of pine, menthol and clove lift, degraded plum fruit and cedar above. The flavours follow the nose but aren’t well defined. Still young. Tom King: Intriguing aromas of cocoa powder, espresso coffee, black cherry jam and seaweed. Similar complexity on the palate, with rich black fruit, succulent tannins and some herbal notes." (05/2026)
