2000 Chateau de Valandraud, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, France 750ml

The fully mature, flamboyant, exuberant 2000 Valandraud offers beautiful notes of coffee, blackberries, sweet cherries, licorice, and smoke. Medium to full-bodied with a buffet of aromas and flavors as well as sweet tannin and a plush, succulent mouthfeel, this is a terrific effort from proprietor Thunevin. It should drink well for another 8-10 years.

This is really exciting, with dark chocolate, berry, grilled meat and cedar. Full-bodied and silky, with lovely berry and mineral character. Goes on for quite a while. Best from Valandraud yet. Best after 2008. ?JS

Bright medium ruby. Roasted aromas of blackberry, black raspberry, cherry, lead pencil and espresso, plus an exotic suggestion of peach. Thick and impressively concentrated, with lovely clarity of berry and cherry flavors thanks to firm acidity. Full, deep, lush and very long, with thoroughly ripe, sweet tannins suffusing the entire palate. This has the best mouth coverage of any of Thunevin 2000s.