2024 Valandraud

There are very few wines in this vintage where you see these grilled, smoky aromatics that are backed up by fruit, but Valandraud delivers, and here you feel that owner Jean-Luc Thunevin stepped in and said, keep going, I want a Valandraud that I recognise. There is still acidity, but it is shaped into austerity and sapidity, with slate tannins, good quality plum and damson fruits. Estate signature, with ageing ability. Harvest 26 September to 7 October, 3.5pH. 100% new oak. Jean-Philippe Fort and Alexandre Béra from Rolland Consultants. Less leaning in to the vintage than railing against it, and there is clear oak here - but it works.

The 2024 Valandraud is quite the powerhouse. Dense and explosive, Valandraud packs a huge punch. Macerations reached up to four weeks, long for the vintage, yielding an especially huge, deep Saint-Émilion. Valandraud is atypically concentrated for the year. Let's see what happens with élevage. There is a feeling of exoticism here that is so alluring. This is an especially heady, opulent wine in 2024. That was clearly the intent, and an approach that worked.

The 2024 Valandraud is the first vintage to include grapes from a parcel just in front of the château. Picked between 26 September and 7 October, it was matured entirely in new oak. This cuvée can handle the 100% new oak, with a floral style and more red fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black cherries and raspberry, showing a firm grip towards the finish with moderate length. It will require three or four years to cohere, but I am concerned about the oak overwhelming the fruit, hence my score.