Château Compassant 2004

Guide des Vins Gault & Millau

About the domain :

"Owned by the Thunevin family, Clos Badon is located in the commune of Saint-Emilion; in the Thunevin "portfolio" since 1998, it comprises 6.5 hectares planted on a sandy-gravelly terroir, with Merlot as the main grape variety. It is from this same terroir that the Valandraud wines are made, including Château de Valandraud, which in a way helped launch the fashion for the famous "garage wines". The ebullient Jean-Luc Thunevin, who today reigns over a good twenty hectares in the Bordeaux region, still has several tricks up his sleeve: his Bad Boy (95% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc) should, in principle, also have included Grenache or Carignan from... Maury, in the Roussillon region, all in the Vin de Pays de France appellation! A postponement, no doubt.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the domain :

(Valandreaux) " Few châteaux can boast so much controversy. The dazzling success of Valandraud, founded by Jean-Luc Thunevin in the early 1990s, annoys as much as it fascinates. How have the wines from this unpretentious estate, built from scratch from a single hectare of vines in Saint-Emilion, become such a success in less than two decades that they now rank among the most expensive and sought-after wines in Bordeaux? The personality of its owner, his talents as a taster and winemaker, and his keen sense of commerce provide a large part of the answer. However, the contents of the bottle should not be overlooked: Valandraud, an exotic and sensual wine at its birth, has also evolved very well. Valandraud was once the leader of the garage wine movement, but is no longer part of it. With its 10 hectares in the commune of Saint-Etienne-de-Lisse, it exceeds the surface area of many of the region's estates. However, the methods have not changed, the vineyard remains one of the best kept in Bordeaux, and the wine continues to benefit from Jean-Luc Thunevin's expertise.