Standard - 75cl
ETA: +2 years
Deep garnet-purple colored. Needs a little coaxing before it bursts with bold notes of black raspberries, wild blueberries, and cedar, followed by hints of sassafras, dusty soil, rose oil, and pipe tobacco. The medium-bodied palate is taut with black and red berry layers, framed by firm, grainy tannins and bold freshness, finishing long and perfumed.
Based on 85% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 6% Cabernet Franc, the 2024 Château Valandraud is aging in 100% new oak and checks in at 13.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.5. It offers terrific depth and richness, with a deep color and focused cassis, dark berries, spicy oak, and graphite aromas. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it's beautifully textured, with fine tannins, impressive mid-palate density, and a seamless finish. You can safely put this up with anything in the vintage.
Silky smooth and full of flesh and juicines. This is really quite arresting from the first sip. Vibrant and energetic with a lick of sweet strawberry, sour cranberry and creamy raspberry giving layers of different textures in the mouth. Clean - you definitely get the mineral backbone - slate, graphite and wet stones with mint and aniseed. Long length, it’s very upfront, not so finessed I wouldn't say but it doesn't taste like a 2024. This is high octane stuff. Intense all the way through. Very Valandraud style but with low alcohol and low ph. 3.50pH. 18-22 months 100% new oak.
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.