My Article: Taste of Valandraud in Hong Kong

I started my week in Hong Kong with a dinner with Jean-Luc Thunevin, the iconoclastic owner of St. Emilion’s Château Valandraud. He was part of a lineup of pre-Acker Merrall & Condit auction events. The sale is on Friday and Saturday.

During a private dinner, we tasted a small range of vintages of Valandraud, which were about 65 percent Merlot, 25 percent Cabernet Franc and the remainder Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. The vintages included 1994, 1996, 2002, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008.

I preferred the 1998 compared to the other vintages. It showed the best depth of fruit and beautiful velvety tannins. It illustrated the excellence of the vintage for the Right Bank. It was better than the slightly harder 2000. In addition, I thought the 2008 showed wonderfully with a beautiful clarity of fruit and precision on the palate. Jean-Luc said he had fine-tuned his winemaking slightly in 2008 to better capture the quality of the vintage.

I am not going to go into detail of how Jean-Luc built his winery and wine business in a little over two decades, but it’s very impressive and I have a lot of respect for him. It’s not easy making something out of nothing in the tradition-bound world of Bordeaux. And it’s still almost hard to believe that he created something like Valandraud out of a tiny plot of land that originally was a vegetable garden near Château Pavie-Macquin in 1989.

People credit Jean-Luc with starting the “garage wine” movement in Bordeaux. But I think he did a lot more. He was a key protagonist in the 1990s on the Right Bank, showing winemakers that they could make high-quality wines with less than superb quality areas, or “grand terroir.” He also illustrated how reducing grape yields in vineyards and selecting only the best grapes for winemaking could produce outstanding wines. It was more a movement for “hands on winemaking” than “garage winemaking.”

In any case, it was a pleasure to see him in Hong Kong and taste his wines. Here are my tasting notes:

2007 Blanc de Valandraud No. 1, Bordeaux: This is thick and oily with apple pie and toasted oak. Full and rich with plenty of dried fruit and pineapples. Long finish. Loads of fruit. From Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Better than I remember. 92 points. Find the wine.

1994 Valandraud, St.-Émilion: Gorgeous nose of milk chocolate with undertones of forest floor and iodine. Full and soft with silky tannins. A light green coffee and chocolate note as well. Drink it. 93 points. Find the wine.

1996 Valandraud, St.-Émilion: Indian tea with dark fruits on the nose. Full-bodied with spices and truffles and a little volatile acidity. Round and juicy. Drink now. 90 points. Find the wine.

2002 Valandraud, St.-Émilion: A surprise for the vintage. It’s rich and round with chocolate, berry and dark fruits. Dark chocolate too. Full and velvety. Lots there. Chewy. Just opening now. 93 points. Find the wine.

1998 Valandraud, St.-Émilion: Super wine here. Aromas of spicy chocolate, almost jalapeño, then dark fruits. It’s full-bodied with silky tannins and a lovely finish. Balanced and refined. Just starting to come around. What depth of fruit. This has a long life ahead of it, but so good to drink now. 96 points. Find the wine.

2000 Valandraud, St.-Émilion: This has a fascinating coffee and chocolate character with a hazelnut edge. Full and velvety but turns a little austere. Bright acidity. Try after 2013. 93 points. Find the wine.

2004 Valandraud, St.-Émilion: Sweet tobacco with chocolate and dark fruits. Subtle yet full and silky with a hint of austerity. Bright and fresh. Little lean at the finish. Drink now. 90 points. Find the wine.

2006 Valandraud, St.-Émilion: Chewy and dusty with lots of coco character and milk chocolate with dark fruits. Full and velvety. Lots of fruit but reserved. Better in 2014. 92 points. Find the wine.

2008 Valandraud, St.-Émilion: This is very focused and precise with chocolate and berry character and juicy fruit. Pure plum and berries on the palate with beautifully integrated tannins. Long finish. Give it until at least 2014. 94 points. Find the wine.