2019 Chateau Valandraud Grand Cru St. Emilion

CRITICAL ACCLAIM


Wine Enthusiast - "This is a dense and luscious wine, the best yet from this estate. Its great structure and tannins show a style that is powerful but all within. This is a magnificent vintage from this Premier Grand Cru Classé estate, and fully deserves to be aged for many years. Barrel Sample: 98-100"


James Suckling - "Vivid and focused with brightness and clarity of fruit. Dried flowers, too. Full-bodied with layers of fine, soft tannins that spread across the palate and show class and refinement. It goes on for minutes. A beautiful bottle. Best from 2027, but so attractive already."


Jeb Dunnuck - "The grand vin 2019 Château Valandraud knocks it out of the park, and this more elegant vintage plays to this cuvée's strengths, giving it beautiful purity and balance paired with its natural richness and depth. Deeply hued with stunning notes of crème de cassis, toasted spices, incense, violets, and orange blossom, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a plush, sexy texture, awesome tannins, and a monster of a finish. Despite being a rich, powerful wine, it's flawlessly balanced and just classic Saint-Emilion. It's going to keep for 25-30 years. Barrel Sample: 96-98"


Vinous - "The 2019 Valandraud is sensational. Stunning in its delineation and with sheer energy, the 2019 dazzles right out of the gate. Dark red/purplish berry fruit, mocha, new leather, licorice and lavender all come alive in the glass. In 2019, Valandraud is a towering, statuesque wine that captures all the best the vintage had to offer. I tasted the 2019 three times and it was magnificent on all three occasions. It is a tremendous effort from Jean-Luc Thunevin and his Murielle Andraud. What a wine! 97+"


Decanter - "Right from the first nose you get deep, richly textured plum fruit, with nuances of chocolate shavings and baked earth. Pencil lead through the mid palate combines the restrained tug of limestone with the confidence of a wine that knows how to make an impression. This is great stuff, really well controlled, carefully but still exuberantly extracted, and one that you would be extremely happy to own. This is the last year in the old winery, with the fancy new one built into the St Emilion hillside, opening as of 2020. A yield of 40hl/ha. 100% new oak. "


Robert Parker's Wine Advocate - "Deep purple-black colored, the 2019 Valandraud sings of freshly crushed black plums, warm blackberries and black cherry coulis with nuances of lavender, cinnamon stick, clove oil and aniseed with a fragrant waft of candied violets. Full-bodied, the palate is both densely laden with concentrated black fruits and wonderfully refreshing, with a firm backbone of velvety tannins, finishing with lingering exotic spice sparks. Barrel Sample: 95-97"


Wine Spectator - "Richly textured, featuring cashmere-like waves of dark plum, cassis and blackberry compote flavors that glide through and are laced with light violet, anise and black tea notes. The rumble of tannins can be heard on the finish, but for the vintage, this is extremely suave in the end. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2025."