The Château Valandraud has an unusual history, to say the least. It is a Domaine that was built from scratch by its self-taught founder Jean-Luc Thunevin, a former banker and merchant in Saint-Emilion, and his wife Murielle Andraud, with passion and determination. Wanting to make wine according to their own ideas, they bought a 0.6 hectare plot in the Fongaban valley of Saint-Emilion. The name of Domaine will thus be inspired by its geographical location, "Val", coupled with Muriel's family name, "andraud".
The release of their first vintage in 1991 will be a success. Having entirely vinified it in a small artisanal vat room set up in their garage, they will be at the origin of the expression "Garage Wine". Today, Domaine has reached a size of 8.8 hectares, the wines born from the alliance between tradition, modernity and innovation. A new state-of-the-art semi-buried vat house, perfectly integrated into the vineyard landscape, will in fact see the light of day for the 2021 harvest.
The Château Valandraud will be promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé at the 6th edition of the Saint-Emilion classification in 2012, crowning the efforts undertaken by the owners at their true value.
The Château Valandraud watches over an 8.8-hectare vineyard planted on clay-limestone soils, and the grape variety is 65% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Malbec. The wines are aged from 18 to 30 months in 100% new barrels.
The Second wine of Château is named after the owners' daughter, Virginie de Valandraud.
The Château Valandraud offers concentrated, velvety wines with great freshness. Like its history, they offer a unique personality in the world of the great Bordeaux.
