2025 Valandraud, St-Emilion

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2025 Valandraud storms from the glass with powerful notes of preserved plums, baked black cherries, and cedar chest, followed by suggestions of sandalwood, camphor, and crushed rocks. The medium- to full-bodied palate is filled with decadent black fruit preserves flavors, framed by firm yet velvety tannins and crisp tension, finishing very long and opulent. Classic Valandraud that won’t disappoint fans.

A new take on Valandraud this year after Jean-Luc Thunevin sold his majority stake to Christophe et Marie Lefévère (Château Sansonnet, Château Moulin du Cadet, Château Villemaurine. With Grégory Leymarie now managing director he said this is the perfect vintage to tell a new story with a new vision and a reduction in production by 20-25%. Gorgeous heady scents on the nose, ripe blackcurrant, cherries and strawberries. Chalky, velvety, ripe but not overly so, you have that intensity and concentration of fruit – but there’s such finesse. Elegance is here in spades, this is soft and approachable already. A juicy, clean and crystalline core with a soft salty, oyster shell mineral bite. I love this for its calmness, roundness and general softness. You still have the signature fruit aspect – the spiced aromatics and the clean blackcurrant, plum and black cherry fruit – the signature of the estate is still recognisable but with a lot more delicacy. (GH)