Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Valandraud is truly strutting its stuff right now with a bold, flamboyant nose of Black Forest cake, molten licorice, blackberry preserves and baked plums plus touches of kirsch, candied violets, star anise, unsmoked cigars, incense and a compelling waft of smoked meats. Full-bodied, the palate is a pedal-to-the-metal, fruit-n-spice blockbuster with a full-on sexy texture of beautifully plush, rounded tannins and tons of freshness to lift the very long, very perfumed finish.

Bad boy Jean-Luc Thunevin has possibly produced the finest Valandraud since his debut vintage in 1992. A blend of 65% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and a tiny shot of Carmenere, the wine has an opaque purple color and a beautiful nose of spring flowers, creme de cassis, blueberry, charcoal, and a hint of espresso. A seamless, full-bodied mouthfeel, striking purity, a skyscraper-like texture, freshness, and precision make for the most complex and noble, as well as most concentrated and massive Valandraud to date. This wine should drink beautifully for 25 or more years. Kudos to St.-Emilion's patron saint of garage wines. (Tasted two times.)

Tasted at Ets. Thunevin. Deep, limpid purple colour. It has a dense, ripe, opulent bouquet of black cherries, bilberry, black plum, honey and violets that spirals from the glass. The palate has a thick, chewy entry, huge weight in the mouth, but there is a counter-balancing citrus freshness, with fresh apricot and star fruit suffused into the pure red-berry fruit, a hint of liquorice curled like a snake around the finish. Very dense to the point of being impenetrable at the moment but at least there is no astringency on the finish and despite the opulence, the minerality comes through on the finish. Superb. Tasted March 2010.

Full ruby-red. Lively aromas of blackberry and licorice. Juicy, intense and sharply delineated, with black fruit, mineral and floral flavors spreading out to saturate the palate. Ripe acidity energizes and extends the flavors on the suavely tannic, very long finish. With 72 hours in the recorked bottle, this beauty remained fresh and firm.

(an 80/20 blend of merlot and cabernet franc; pH 3.5; 14% alcohol; 100 IPT) Glass-staining opaque purple-ruby. The nose initially shows heavy torrefaction notes of roasted coffee bean and cedar, but blackcurrant and spicy plum notes emerge slowly with aeration. Then smooth, ripe and light on its feet, with lively, nicely integrated acids framing and lifting the dense, fleshy, ripe red and black fruit flavors. The long finish features polished tannins and a much lighter touch than the nose suggests, and an almost Burgundian quality to its lingering perfume. This should evolve splendidly with bottle age and appears to be a great vintage for this wine.

[80M/20CF] Subtle black cherry nose; a rich and concentrated wine, but in an effortless way; medium full, fresh and very finely tannic; dense in flavour without being in any way thick; warm, glowingly ripe, fragrant black cherry sweetness, a lovely ripeness and freshness of fruit at once; long and close grained, with an almost imperceptible tannin texture and great, gentle tenacity of flavour, filmily mouthcoating, and with a prolonged, perfumed farewell. A beauty in every sense. The fine palate and gentle winemaking hand of Murielle Thunevin clear here. Accessible early, but so well balanced that it should keep very well. 2016-30

Tasted blind. Dark crimson. Notably fragrant. Attractive salty thread and real energy. Savoury and interesting. Really appetising. Long. Throbs with energy. Super-clean and fresh but far from light. Very long. (JR)