Winemaker Notes
Blend: 90% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Wow. The blackberry, licorice and blueberry aromas are really spellbinding. Full-bodied, chewy and polished with beautiful fruit. Super depth and richness. Always subtle and polished behind the power. Try in 2023.
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Wine Enthusiast
Here's an impressive wine that is so ripe and with great structure. It is a major wine with a dark complex texture and the finest acidity. The wine is very complete, all the elements in place from the black fruits to the tannins to the hints of wood aging. Now at the top of the tree in Saint-Emilion's classification, the wine will take years to mature. Drink from 2027.
Cellar Selection -
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2014 Valandraud from Saint-Emilion superstar Jean-Luc Thunevin is certainly up with the crème de la crème of the vintage, and while I can be a little humdrum with regards to 2014, this is one of the few that will cause your heart rate to jump. A deep purple/ruby color is accompanied by a terrific perfume of ripe black cherries, blackberries, Asian spices, decaying flowers and hints of tobacco. Deep, layered, full-bodied, and tannic, it needs to be forgotten for at least 4-5 years and will keep for two decades. It’s one of the few “do not miss” wines in 2014.
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Wine Spectator
Delivers a gorgeous display of fruit, with boysenberry, raspberry and blackberry coulis notes that are fresh and racy, allied to a graphite spine and framed judiciously with a well-singed apple wood accent. This has a lot of coiled-up energy. Best from 2022 through 2035.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Having tasted the 2014 Valandraud blind as part of a complete vertical in December, you may ask what is the point in revisiting it a manner of weeks afterwards? Well, Jean-Luc submitted three or four bottles to subsequent tastings, so I feel that I should honor his participation by saying that these vindicated the showing back in December. There remains that exuberance on the nose with layers of blackberry and blueberry, the palate still sumptuous and stocked, full of dense black cherry and cassis fruit. It could have been pushed too far, but it pulls everything back on the finish to retain the detail and freshness you expect. Tasted February 2017.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.