Ch.Valandraud 1994 750ml

Wine Advocate #229, Mar 01, 2017
The 1994 Valandraud has a healthy dark garnet core, quite deep considering its age. The bouquet is well defined and fresh with cedar and tobacco-infused black fruit, quite Left Bank (Saint Julien to be precise) in style. The palate is medium-bodied with finer tannin than the previous vintage, some red and black fruit remaining, but usurped by tobacco and a light marine-like note. It feels as if it is approaching the end of its drinking plateau, but it has certainly held up extremely well and comes across decidedly classic in style. Like the 1993, how many 1994 Right Banks continue to give pleasure with such generosity? Tasted December 2016.

Chateau Valandraud, or Chateau de Valandraud, is an unclassed Bordeaux wine producer situated in the Saint- Emilion appellation. The winery is located on the Right Bank of France's Bordeaux wine region in the commune of Saint-Emilion.
The winery also produces the second wines, Virginie de Valandraud and 3 de Valandraud, and the Kosher wine Chateau Valandraud Kosher.
In 1989 Jean-Luc Thunevin and his wife Murielle Andraud bought a 0.6-hectare (1.5-acre) plot in Saint - Emilion near Chateau Pavie-Macquin. Further plots in the region were acquired over the years, in locations such as Saint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens and Saint- tienne-de-Lisse, and a former garage to be used as a winery, releasing the first vintage in 1991 of 1,500 bottles priced at �13. Exemplified as a typical "microchateau", Thunevin is closely associated with the "garagiste" movement, and the wine is described as the pioneer "Vin de garage". In 1995, Valandraud was given a better rating by Robert Parker than Chateau Pétrus, and by 1997 the Valandraud bottle price was set at �91. The 2005 vintage was set at �165.
The Thunevins have since taken on several projects, including the first "garage wine"' of Médoc, Marojallia, and acting as négociant distributor for several estates from Bordeaux, Languedoc-Roussillon and elsewhere, including Chateau Ausone, Gracia, Harlan Estate and Dominio de Pingus.

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