Château Valandraud: Vineyards
All in all Jean-Luc and Murielle Thunevin now own about 24 hectares dotted here and there around St Emilion, of which about 10 hectares contributes to Château Valandraud. The remaining vineyards give us other Thunevin wines, which include other estates such as Clos Badon, a wine still produced under the name of Château Bel-Air-Ouÿ, presumably from some sections of the vineyard not deemed suitable for Valandraud, and there are now even white wines in the portfolio. As an aside, he also has 4 hectares in Pomerol, 4 hectares in Margaux and 6 hectares in Lalande de Pomerol. In this profile I will focus on St Emilion, and solely on those vineyards of relevance to wines with the Valandraud label.
When Jean-Luc, export manager Juan Carlos and I arrived at the Thunevin ‘garage’ on the rue Vergnaud, we had a quick peek inside at the facilities, before we all jumped into Jean-Luc’s 4×4 – de rigueur for the more successful Bordelais it seems – and headed out towards what was once Château Bel-Air-Ouÿ, and is now Château Valandraud. The property and vineyards lie near Saint Etienne de Lisse, a statement which I acknowledge might lead to some confusion, as Saint Etienne de Lisse is down on the plain, at the foot of the limestone côtes. It is important to note that Château Valandraud lies up on the limestone plateau, above the plain. Here it is quite distant from other premier grand cru classé estates, although there are one or two neighbours of note.
