Château Valandraud 2012

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 because 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 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 small 0.6 hectare plot close to Château Pavie Macquin.  They purchased an additional 1.2 hectares of vines a bit further east in Saint Sulpice.  The name, “Valandraud,” is an interesting one.  The “Val,” portion comes from the location where the grapes are planted, a place called Vallon de Fongaban.  The latter portion of the name, “Andraud,” is the last name of Jean-Luc’s wife, Murielle.  Murielle is currently 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 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 pinoneered 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 in order 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.  

"Tasted blind at the Valandraud vertical at the property, the 2012 Valandraud instantly demonstrated the wide gap in quality between itself and the previous vintage. It is a blend of 88% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Franc matured for 28 months in 100% new oak. It has a primal and concentrated bouquet with intense blackberry, bilberry and graphite aromas that gain intensity in the glass, and yet remain "strict" and linear. The palate is medium-bodied with brittle tannin that impart a chalky texture. There is plenty of clean and crisp blackberry and raspberry fruit here, pencil lead and a touch of chalk towards the precise and vivid finish. The energy is palpable in this Saint Emilion, a quite stupendous wine from Jean-Luc and Murielle that must stand as one of the best on the Right Bank. This comes strongly recommended, although it still needs plenty of time. Tasted December 2016." - Neal Martin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (2/28/2017, Issue 229), Rating: 95, Drink from: 2022-2050 

 
"A tribute to the partnership of Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud, the 2012 Valandraud is a magnificent wine and one of the superstars of the vintage. Inky purple, with notes of white chocolate, crème de cassis, blackberry fruit and lively background minerality, it has great precision, acidity, sweet tannin and a voluptuous full-bodied mouthfeel. It is very vigorous, young and backward, but bursting with unbelievable potential. This is a fabulous effort from perfectionists Andraud and Thunevin. Thunevin, the father of the “garagiste” movement in St.-Emilion, usually fashions this wine from a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and the balance Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, from 11 acres sprinkled throughout the appellation. Drink it between 2020-2035." - Robert Parker Jr, The Wine Advocate (4/29/2015, Issue 218), Ratings: 95+, Drink: 2020-2035