Château Valandraud 1998

A classic St.-Emilion, the 1998 exhibits a dark plum/purple color as well as an elegant nose of mocha, coffee, cherries, blackberries, and chocolate. It has turned out to be more finesse-styled and less exotic than past vintages. This medium to full-bodied, beautifully concentrated wine reveals chocolate overtones in the aromas and flavors. With exceptional purity, balance, and length, it should turn out to be one of the most elegant Valandrauds yet produced. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2020. Proprietor Jean-Luc Thunevin and his wife, Murielle, are the de facto leaders of the St.-Emilion vin de garage effort. If that is not unsettling enough to the Medoc aristocracy, they are now starting up garage operations in Margaux and St.-Estephe.

Intense aromas of roses, blackberry and prune. Full-bodied, with lots of ripe fruit, vanilla and chocolate character. Polished and silky mouthfeel. Even a little dusty. Long and beautiful. A burly, muscular wine in a traditional style; give it time. One of the best Valandrauds ever. -- '88/'98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Best after 2011. 1,000 cases made.

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.

The 1998 Valandraud was poured blind and repeated previous showings. It has what might be termed a “blockbuster” nose, a phrase that doesn’t really appeal to me… it’s just very opulent with telltale signs of liquorice and tobacco. The palate is very well balanced and, just as I noted before, you could almost imagine it being a Left Bank in terms of flavor profile, were it not for its plush texture on the finish. Jean-Luc Thunevin made a helluva wine in this year, and at 20 years it is still going strong. Tasted in London at a private lunch.

Coffee bean, black cherry, plum, chocolate and fennel flavors lead to a sensually textured, Saint-Émilion that is already close to maturity.

Drinking brilliantly today, the 1998 Château Valandraud offers an almost Médoc-like array of ripe black fruits, cedarwood, tobacco, and lead pencil-like aromatics. This trait carries over to the palate as well, where the wine is more medium to full-bodied, has a beautifully balanced, elegant mouthfeel, beautiful tannins, and a great finish. It's certainly a more restrained wine compared to Valandraud today, but it’s still a beautiful, elegant wine to enjoy over the coming decade.

Dense, dark ruby red with a gentle brick-red sheen. An absolutely crazy bouquet: concentrated sweetness, lots of dried fruit, raspberries, lemon balm, Irish moss, malty notes—power and volume on a dramatic scale (you could keep smelling it for hours). On the palate, creamy, like a La Mouline from Guigal; toasted hazelnuts, an almost buttery extract, and an abundance that recalls truly great, legendary world-class wines. The finish brings rock candy and a smoky Merlot-caramel sweetness. Right now, the most attractive wine of the vintage.

99: Barrel sample (18/20), production: 12,000 bottles. The château owner would surely have wished for a richer, more concentrated wine this year, but nature sometimes sets different terms. Thus this Valandraud 1998 has turned out Burgundian in style, very elegant, and will certainly live long on its lavish fruit: deep blackberry bouquet, mahogany note, ebony, intensely spicy tannins. Juicy palate, great extraction that comes across as silky and again holds many blue and black berry notes, still slightly strict in the tannins, which stand out in the tongue’s extract, great potential, perhaps a touch less opulent than the lavish ’95. 00 (50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Franc): Beautiful, wide-ranging bouquet; smoky Merlot, but also a spicy note from the Cabernet Franc that gives it a lovely freshness today, cassis and blackberries. Firm on the palate, great astringency, plenty of concentration, licorice in the extract, focused finish with black cherries and cassis again (18/20). 04: Deep, dark wine-red with a gentle brick hue within. Absolutely crazy bouquet; packed sweetness, lots of dried fruit, raspberries, lemon balm, Irish moss, malt tones, power and volume to a dramatic degree—you could smell it for hours. On the palate creamy, tastes like a La Mouline from Guigal, roasted hazelnuts, an almost buttery extract showing a fullness reminiscent of truly great, legendary world-class wines; the finish features rock candy and a smoky, caramelized Merlot sweetness. At the moment, unquestionably the most attractive wine of this vintage in all of Saint-Émilion. (19/20). 07: Still an extremely dark color, dense purple, no signs of evolution. Expansive, almost creamy bouquet, black currant, dark chocolate notes, butter, caramel, conveying a clear Cabernet Franc spice. On the palate, charm and breadth, showing a strong affinity to a Cheval Blanc, rock candy notes, ripe black plums. Among all Valandraud, this one is truly great and already shows complete harmony. With reserves that remain promising. (19/20). 08: Imperial bottle: dark ruby-garnet, dense at the core. Plummy bouquet with spicy tar notes, licorice, Darjeeling; the bouquet started off almost overly sweet with lots of buttery caramel and dark roasted notes, but underneath, after a quarter of an hour, plenty of smoky Merlot emerged. On the palate hugely concentrated, almost intoxicating berry aromatics, cassis, blackberries, Arabica coffee, still shows reserves and is only at the beginning of an astonishingly long drinking window. 09: Opened for 80 people at Spitz. A powerhouse wine with a slightly green-tinged Cabernet glimmer, but the thing really hums. 09: From a double magnum in Bremen. A sheer monument and at least as good as the ’95 at present. 09: Needs half an hour and then it takes off with strength and power. 11: Dark, dense wine-red. Warm, brawny aroma, yet showing in the middle some green-spiced Cabernet traces, lots of depth and a dark-berried aromatic that then shifts to mocha. On the palate meaty, full. A real package. Saint-Émilion full board! (19/20). 12: Very dark color, almost black at the purple core. Truffle, clove, mocha, Szechuan pepper, dried blackberry canes, comes across very deep and shows a very fine Cabernet Sauvignon spice in all that rich Merlot. On the palate very powerful, meaty, with lots of substance, still astringent; in the finish once again showing a very dark spice with clove traces and Brazil tobacco, as well as licorice. In the scene there are the great, long-lived classics and then the new modern wines. This one has managed to switch from modern to classic. Thus the newly awarded title of “Premier B” is quite appropriate here. (19/20). 12: Magnum. Dense, compact purple with violet-black highlights. Lavish licorice and black currant, blackberry jelly, cold coffee, dried blueberries, extremely profound. A concentrated package—you can sense the spicy Cabernet Sauvignon, and that’s exactly what makes it unique. (19/20). 13: Dark wine-red, almost greenish amber reflections at the rim. The nose is very special, lots of roasted notes, bread crust, greenish spice in the background (grassy and eucalyptus), reminiscent of a cool Figeac. On the palate elegant with lots of finesse. Cabernet is known to slim down Merlot, and you sense that clearly here in the body and in the final aromatics. Nevertheless, a great red wine that one could mistake, taste-wise, for a Médoc. (19/20). 15: I had it three times in one week. All bottles were sensational. Now opened and ready. Once I even pulled out the 20/20! (19/20). 16: Extremely dark color, almost black at the core, showing very little maturity at the rim. Brilliant bouquet clearly on black berries, tar notes (like a Hermitage!), licorice, truffle, very deep. On the palate dense, meaty, offering lots of substance and still equipped with an all-encompassing astringency. Certainly vinified at the limit, but the beast has so much power that it will integrate this over the next years. I see full peak in 5 to 10 years! So decant for a long time. A tenor, a “Pavarotti from Saint-Émilion.”

Sweet, fragrant, powerful bouquet of strawberries, mint, mocha cream, licorice. Sweet, silky, creamy, full palate with intense sweet aromatics, fine tannins, and a long, spicy finish. 19/20 drink - 2025

A magnificent wine, with dazzlingly silky tannins and a luscious depth. The finish, marked by notes of prune and mocha, is now perfectly open and expressive.

Logo on the capsule: CRL Dark, intense, beautiful colour with slight evolution. Fruity, ripe-style nose. Truffled. Caressing, juicy, silky and aromatic palate with flavour, body and wrapped tannins. Finely liquorice-tinged, suave finish. A lovely, fairly delicate wine that stands out for being far more aromatic than all the other vintages.