Valandraud 2022

Lot presentation

Valandraud 2022

The wine

The Blanc de Valandraud white wine was born in 2003, produced from plots of limestone-clay soil alongside Château Valandraud, with the goal of producing the best white wine anywhere in the Bordeaux appellation. The gamble paid off: it is much loved by experts and hard to find, often being compared to Burgundy wines.

In 1989, restaurateur and wine merchant Jean-Luc Thunevin and his wife Murielle acquired a small plot of vines (less than a hectare) in Saint-Emilion. The first vintage of Château de Valandraud was produced in 1991. The Thunevin family were involved throughout the winemaking process, seeking perfection at every stage… starting in the vineyard, where Murielle tended the vines on a daily basis. From 2001, organic methods were adopted in the vineyard, which had previously been treated with a minimum pesticides approach. A superb wine prized by connoisseurs all over the world, its price has risen dramatically due to the small quantities that were produced: 4,200 bottles in 1993, 9,000 in 1994, 11,400 in 1995 and about 12,000 bottles a year thereafter. The Thunevin family have since purchased ten more hectares spread across the Saint-Emilion appellation. The term garage wine has thus come to apply less and less to Château Valandraud, which now also produces a second wine, Virginie de Valandraud. At the 2012 reclassification of Saint-Emilion wines, Valandraud was promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé B status.