Chateau Valandraud 2022

Bewertungen

• 99/100

  Jeb Dunnuck
  The 2022 Château Valandraud is sensational, offering a massive array of blackcurrants, chocolate, smoked tobacco, baking spices, and truffly earth. Full-bodied and deeply layered, it has a velvety mouthfeel, polished tannins, and remarkable purity. It reminds me of a hypothetical blend of the 2020 and 2019. Based on 85% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, it was vinified and aged 22 months in new barrels. It will evolve gracefully for 20-30 years."

• 99/100

  Falstaff
  Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Feine Edelholznuancen, dunkle Waldbeeren, frische Kirschen, ein Hauch von Nugat und Orangenzesten, einladendes Bukett. Saftig, elegant, feine Kirschen und Pflaumen, zarte Extraktsüße, finessenreich strukturiert, seidig und balanciert, große Länge und Delikatesse, sehr überzeugend, sicheres Reifepotenzial."

• 98/100

  Wine Enthusiast
  This solid wine wears its alcohol well. It has structure as well as density and concentration. Black fruits and dark tannins go with the wine's richness. The black fruit aroma sets the scene for this impressive wine from the original Bordeaux garagiste. Drink from 2029."

• 98/100

  The Wine Cellar Insider
  The showy nose delivers its array of licorice, camphor, incense, espresso, blackberries, and blueberries effortlessly. The wine is rich, creamy, and frankly luxurious as it caresses your palate with waves of smooth, polished, velvety fruits. And, even with all this concentration, density, and intensity, the wine has enough lift, and freshness to feel almost light on its feet! This represents a new level of quality for Valandraud, and that's saying something. The wine blends 88% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink from 2027-2055."

• 97/100

  Jane Anson
  Inky plum in colour, opens with an immediate caress of supple tannins with violet, rose and peony, liquorice root, textured, rich but reserved with a tug of graphite, slate and crayon. This is a really impressive Valandraud, excellent quality, clearly decades of ageing ahead of it. Jean-Luc Thunevin owner, harvest September 15 to October 5, 100% new oak."

• 18,5+/20

  Weinwisser
  88 % Merlot, 6 % Cabernet Franc, 6 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 15.5 Vol.-%, pH 3.55, 50 hl/ha. Komplexes schwarzbeeriges Bouquet, dominikanischer Tabak, frisch gemahlener schwarzer tasmanischer Bergpfeffer, Schokopastillen und Veilchenparfüm. Am vielschichtigen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, kakaoartigem Tanningerüst, balancierter Rasse, edlem mineralischem Kern und gestähltem Körper. Im konzentrierten, nicht enden wollenden Finale ein Feuerwerk von Holundersaft, Schlehengelee, tiefschürfender Terroirwürze und erhabener Adstringenz. Der raubt einem förmlich den Atem, kann noch zulegen."

• 97/100

  James Suckling
  A rich, glossy Valandraud delivered in a plush but polished mode. Showing lots of new wood, cocoa nibs, mocha, espresso and pine cones to the dense blackberries and a touch of roasted red peppers. Full with immense concentration, this has compact fruit and bold, dusty tannins. You hardly catch the high alcohol here with such intensity. Balanced at a high pitch. Big, voluptuous but beautiful too. 36,200 bottles made. Give it three more years to let the wood spices integrate. Drink from 2028."

• 96/100

  Decanter
  At 15.5% there's no getting round this is one of the highest alcohols among the 2022s but it very much works with the vintage offering a heady, concentrated nose followed by powerful, yet sleek profile on the palate. Really juicy and alive, the acidity is brilliant and lifts the red berry fruit flavours with chalky tannins giving the intensity towards the finish. There are flashes of heat but there's also cooling minerality and salty touches without any overt toastiness which is so pleasant. I tasted this a little colder - cellar cold - and I think that really works in its favour. Gorgeous purity, finesse and approachability."

• 95/100

  Wine Spectator
  Alluring singed alder and black tea accents lead the way, followed by a dense core of steeped blackberry and black currant fruit. A swath of licorice root, warm earth and tobacco coats the finish, with the fruit keeping pace. Lengthy and velvety in feel, this is almost approachable now. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2026 through 2040. 3,300 cases made."

• 94/100

  Lisa Perrotti-Brown
  As usual this young Valandraud absolutely bursts with highly toasted oaky aromas on the nose, all matchstick and cedar, combined with some dark yet overtly perfumed fruit. The palate follows up with a rich layer of concentrated black summer fruits, all black cherry with layers of tobacco, tar and liquorice, with a salty black bean intensity, set in a rich texture, with a supple weight, glossy and creamed, yet smoky and firm. It culminates in a big and bold style, where I find more than a streak of alcohol, it being particularly evident in the warm and peppery finish. This will no doubt find its fans;for my own pleasure I would prefer a little less alcohol, although the definition of the fruit has charm, and the heavy application of oak will fade with time too. Valandraud seems to age well despite its occasionally rather hedonistic showing in its youth, so perhaps this one deserves a chance."

• 18/20

  Jancis Robinson
  Extremely dark purplish crimson. This feels heavy in the glass! But on the nose it's not overdone, just dramatic. There's a savoury spine around which is wound lots of spicy fruit . I'd guess the yield was pretty low but for the taster there is no pain of excessive concentration or extraction, just intrigue. Worth waiting for. Very long indeed."