1994 Château Valandraud - Saint-Émilion Grand Cru - 1 Bottle (0.75L)

+++ No grouping of lots. Each lots ships individually +++

1 x Bottle of 1994 Château Valandraud Grand Cru (now Grand Cru Classé B)

Very RARE and excellent bottle of its 5th vintage with only 8.998 bottles ever produced by legendary JL Thunevin. This is truly the original "vin the garage" so popular back in the end of last century.

Bottle is in almost MINT with an excellent fill level into the neck. Capsules and labels are mint. Kept in perfect professionally controlled climate storage conditions. From our private collection.

About Château Valandraud 1994
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Famously recognized as one of the pioneering pillars of the Bordeaux "Garage Wine" (Vins de Garage) movement. Defying centuries of classic Bordeaux traditions, Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud produced this wine with extreme, meticulous hand-intervention from microscopic parcel yields in Saint-Émilion.

Blend Composition: Predominantly 70% Merlot, complemented with 30% Cabernet Franc.

Viticulture: Drastically low yields and obsessive berry-by-berry sorting to maximize concentration during a meteorologically challenging, highly tannic vintage in Bordeaux.

Cellar Vinification: Malolactic fermentation took place directly in the barrels. The wine was aged for 20 months in 100% new French oak casks, completely unfiltered and unfined before bottling.

Appearance: Deep, healthy garnet core showing a beautifully evolved tawny/brick-red rim, retaining an impressive depth of color for its age.

Nose: Magnificent, expressive, and highly sophisticated. It opens with complex notes of milk chocolate, creamy mocha, cedarwood, pipe tobacco, and dried autumn leaves, closely intertwined with tertiary undertones of sea iodine, damp forest floor, and roasted coffee beans.

Palate: Medium-bodied with a highly velvety, silky texture driven by the natural sweetness of aged Merlot. The tannins are beautifully resolved, fine-grained, and smooth compared to its powerful youth. It retains a savory core of dried black plums layered with marine notes and leather, leading to a long, dry, and classically elegant Bordeaux finish.

Critics Score
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93 Points James Suckling (2011)
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.

92 Points Neil Martin (2017)
Tasted blind at the Valandraud vertical at the property, the 1994 Valandraud has a healthy dark garnet core, quite deep considering its age. The bouquet is well defined and fresh with cedar and tobacco-infused black fruit, quite Left Bank (Saint Julien to be precise) in style. The palate is medium-bodied with finer tannin than the previous vintage, some red and black fruit remaining, but usurped by tobacco and a light marine-like note. Like the 1993, how many 1994 Right Banks continue to give pleasure with such generosity

Shipping is from EU MAINLAND in certified protective cardbox.