The product image is for illustrative purposes only and may not exactly reflect the actual characteristics of the wine.
The wine
- Colour
- Rosso
- Alcohol
- 14.5% vol
Critics' scores
- Robert Parker / Wine Advocate 96+
The deep garnet-purple colored 2016 Valandraud packs a wallop on the nose with bombastic scents of baked black plums, cherry compote, coffee beans and licorice plus hints of hoisin, cedar chest and sautéed herbs. Full-bodied, rich and decadent in the mouth, it has a firm frame of grainy tannins and a fantastically long finish.
- Wine Spectator 96
This is a full display of fruit, with raspberry preserve, plum reduction and creamed boysenberry notes streaming through in lockstep, while light bramble and singed vanilla accents happily take a back seat throughout. An echo of chalky minerality at the very end adds refinement and length. Best from 2022 through 2038. 2,583 cases made. — JM
- James Suckling 98
Incredible perfumes and beauty with ripe plum and berry character, as well as an array of spices, such as nutmeg and cinnamon. Full-bodied, firm and silky with beautifully polished tannins. Rendered and defined. A wine with lovely, classy nature and personality. One of the best Valandrauds I have tasted at this stage. Try from 2026.
The producer: Château Valandraud
It all started humbly on a 0.6 ha vineyard and a garage turned into a vinification cellar. Since then, Chateau Valandraud has grown to a 10.70 ha vineyard based on the clayey limestone terroir of Saint Etienne de Lisse. The vineyard is a mix if various grape varieties : 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Manual harvest with grape sorting by hand, followed by a densimetric sorting by Tribaie upon the harvest arrival in our bioclimatic cellar. Thermo regulated stainless steel and wooden vats. Punching of the cap, pumping over, 3 weeks maceration. Malolactic fermentation in oak barrels. Ageing varies with each vintage, from 18 to 30 months in 100% new oak barrels. The final blending also varies according the each vintage, result of the rigorous selection by our own technical team, helped in this task by Jean Philippe Fort from the Rolland team.
Dozens are working all year long to look after every vintage of Valandraud, in the vineyard and the cellars, with the same goal to achieve every year : delivering the best possible wine. Christophe Lardière manages the vineyard team, and Rémi Dalmasso, our in-house oenologist, heads the cellar team. Murielle Andraud and Jean Luc Thunevin are also on the ground, supervising all operations.