Château Valandraud 2017

Starts focused, with an impressive, imposing character on the palate, crisp tannins, long finish, a powerful wine made with great precision.

This is ablaze with cassis, cherry preserve and blueberry reduction flavors that ripple with energy, inlaid with graphite, anise and Lapsang souchong tea notes. The long finish displays a luxurious feel, with a subtle underlay of chalky minerality. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2022 through 2040. 2,125 cases made.

Rich, layered, complex, a winner in a difficult vintage, full of juice and salinity. Feels alive, with the natural break of the vintage nicely played with by Thunevin's irrepressible nod towards exuberance. I liked this En Primeur and it has done a great job over ageing of settling and building power. Great stuff, highly recommended.

Intense, ripe dark plums and berries with graphite and stones, as well as fresh, cedary oak. This has powerful yet very seamless and intense fruit presence with a very concentrated array of ripe dark plums and rich, assertive fruit, which builds smoothly on the finish. Impressive poise here. A blend of 90% merlot, 7% cabernet franc and 3% cabernet sauvignon. Try from 2025.

90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Very dark with a black core. Charry blackcurrant on the nose. Dry in texture but with lots of refined, scented black fruit on the palate. Almost austere in its dark, rocky flavours on the palate. The alcohol shows less than you might expect because the fruit is full and pure. Needs a lot of time. (JH)

Better in bottle than in barrel (which is always a good sign), the deeply colored wine is brimming with smoke, licorice, espresso bean, and black cherries. Lush, round, and full-bodied, the finish is showy and long. This should continue to fill out nicely.

Deep dark ruby, with purple reflections and a bright rim. On the nose, an attractive fine oak savouriness and intense black berry fruit create an ethereal and inviting bouquet. Juicy, elegant and fresh, with fine tannins and a red-berry touch on the finish. It is elegant and long, and is a refined food wine.

Inky dark purple colour and hue. Very intense and layered nose offering fine oak, toast, caramel, sweet spices and crème de cassis. The palate is dense, almost massive, yet with very fine balance and proportions, superbly grainy tannin and a well-preserved freshness paired with notes of blackberry, cassis, dark chocolate and fine smoke, powerful yet elegant and digest with an immensely long finish.

A blend of 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon brought up in new barrels, the 2017 Chateau Valandraud is up with the crème de la crème of the vintage. Killer notes of crème de cassis, graphite, white flowers, and violets all emerge from the glass, and this beauty has a wonderful sense of purity, full-bodied richness, ultra-fine tannins, and a great finish. It opens up beautifully with time in the glass and is a remarkable effort in the vintage. Give it 3-4 years if you can and enjoy any time over the following two decades.

Kunz barrel sample 18: (90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, production approx. 20,000 bottles) Concentrated, opulent, fruity bouquet of black cherries, blackberry jam, caramel, licorice, vanilla. Velvety, dense, multi-layered, powerful palate with rich, sweet fruit, plenty of fine tannins, dark, intense aromatics, muscular structure, and a long, dense, aromatic finish.

Silky, sweet, powerful, fruity bouquet: blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, chocolate, licorice, caramel, mint. Creamy, dense, powerful palate with an opulent structure, intense sweet fruit, plenty of fine tannins, pronounced aromatics, long, bitter finish. 18/20 2025 - 2048

A success in a cooler vintage that is offering a real moment of pleasure right now. This is packed with juicy black fruits, layered and nuanced with liquorice and spiced plum, with a crayon and salted cracker finish that showcases the cool clay-limestone soils of Valandraud's vineyard site. This feels vivid and full of life, and as ever I'm a fan of Valandraud in years where nature puts the brakes on what is, as I described it when tasting in bottle years ago, 'Thunevin's irrepressible nod towards exuberance'. 100% new oak.

The 2017 Valandraud has a medium to deep garnet-purple color. It offers profound notes of stewed plums, Christmas cake, and Chinese five spice, with wafts of incense, kirsch, and mossy tree bark. The big, opulent, full-bodied palate has beautiful freshness and plush tannins, finishing long and spicy.

Freshness, a lovely expression of red fruit, velvety, well-integrated tannins—this already expressive wine is a pleasure with white poultry meat.

Slightly more rigorous than usual, the wine shows a tension built on well-judged oak within the 2017 texture.

Dense garnet red with purple highlights. Superb bouquet perfectly combining élevage, fruit, and freshness. Pleasant aromas of black berries, chalky notes, and coffee. On the palate, the attack is charming, indulgent, and fruity. Lovely aromatic intensity through to the finish, where the tannins assert themselves convincingly. The structure is lively, taut, and in harmony with the tannins. Persistent finish. A characterful Valandraud!

Logo on the cork: CB Dark, intense, and beautiful color. Very aromatic nose, with ripe fruit and a lightly toasty note. Caressing on the attack, juicy mid-palate, very aromatic; the wine glides on the finish, powerful and long. A great success for the vintage.

Dense garnet with a ruby rim. Concentrated bouquet of exotic woods, dark chocolate notes and fresh thyme. On the second nose, black-berried contours and Brazil tobacco. On the palate, a powerhouse with a tightly woven tannic structure and a slightly mealy extract. A focused, slightly encapsulated finish with crushed black berries and a drying astringency that needs time to settle.

Initially this wine seems massive. But as it opens out, it shows its balanced, perfumed side. Ripe black fruits are evened out by the wine's concentration and richness. In turn the acidity and the smoky flavors give it depth and potential. Drink this wine from 2025.