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1995 Chateau de Valandraud (750ml) (12 bottle OWC)
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QUANTITY AVAILABLE: 12
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ONLY AVAILABLE IN 12 BOTTLE ORIGINAL WOOD CASE. PRICE ABOVE IS PER BOTTLE.
Vintage: 1995
Format: 750ml
Wine Name: Chateau de Valandraud
Vineyard:
Designation: Grand Cru Classe
Appellation: St. Emilion
Producer: Chateau de Valandraud
Varietal: Red Bordeaux Blend
Type: Red
Country: France
Region: Bordeaux
Sub-Region: Libournais
Alcohol: 12.5%
Tasting note: Dark ruby color, with intense aroma of dark chocolate, blackberries and vanilla. Full-bodied, with supersilky tannins and a long, delicious finish. Wonderful now but will improve with age. I have always like this wine. It was the beginning of serious winemaking here.--'95/'96 Bordeaux retrospective. Drink now. (93pts JS, Wine Spectator)
Tasted: 2007
Score: 93
Drink: Now
Tasting note: Superb, saturated dark ruby color. Knockout aromas of black raspberry, smoked duck and suave, smoky oak. Thick, sweet and velvety in the mouth; the fruit explodes with aeration, saturating those hard-to-reach places in the mouth. Really fabulous sweetness. A slightly roasted note suggests great ripeness (though I recall Thunevin telling me two years ago that this wine could have been even greater had he waited another few days to harvest!). Ultrasuave tannins are buried in a wave of fruit. One of the longest finishes of the vintage. Purists may argue that a wine like this cannot possible match such '95s as Latour or Margaux or Petrus for terroir character or class, but few wines can match the '95 Valandraud for sheer hedonistic pleasure. (95pts ST, International Wine Cellar)
Tasted: May 1998
Score: 95
Drink: N/A
Tasting note: This splendid Valandraud ranks with the finest wines proprietor Jean-Luc Thunevin has produced since his debut 1991 vintage. The wine exhibits an opaque purple color, and a sensational nose of roasted herbs, black fruits (cherries, currants, and blackberries), and high class toasty oak (the latter component is more of a nuance than a dominant characteristic). Very concentrated, with layers of fruit, glycerin, and extract, yet seamlessly constructed, this wine contains the stuff of greatness, and appears to be the finest Valandraud yet produced. The finish lasts for over 30 seconds. The wine's high tannin is barely noticeable because of the ripeness and richness of fruit. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2020. (95pts RP, Wine Advocate)
Tasted: Feb. 1998
Score: 95
Drink: 2005-20
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