France · Libournais

Thunevin

Saint-Émilion reds from the Thunevin family, led by Château Valandraud: clay-and-limestone fruit, close vineyard work and long ageing in new French oak.

The producer

Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud created Château Valandraud from a 0.6-hectare holding at Fongaban, with the first vintage released in 1991. In Saint-Émilion, clay and limestone soils sit behind reds shaped by double-Guyot pruning, de-suckering and green harvesting; malolactic fermentation and 18–30 months in new French oak add dark-fruit weight, tannin and oak spice.

The Bordeaux range centres on Château Valandraud, with Virginie de Valandraud and 3 de Valandraud offering related expressions. The 2018 3 de Valandraud, made from declassified Valandraud and Virginie fruit, combines Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon in a fresh, dark-fruited red with softened tannin. Clos Badon-Thunevin adds another classified Saint-Émilion property, while Thunevin-Calvet Maury is a separate, 100% Grenache wine from Languedoc-Roussillon.

Known for

Saint-Émilion reds led by Château Valandraud, with 3 de Valandraud and Virginie de Valandraud extending the range.

Notable facts

The story

From Fongaban To First Vintage

Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud bought their first 0.6-hectare parcel at Fongaban in 1989. The small Saint-Émilion holding became the starting ground for a wine project into which they invested their money. In 1991, they created Château Valandraud and produced its first vintage. The two dates record separate events: the purchase of the parcel came first, followed by the arrival of the wine two years later. Valandraud subsequently grew into a family of Saint-Émilion labels, and Château Valandraud entered the 2012 classification as Premier Grand Cru Classé B.

From the atlas

Thunevin

At A Glance

Thunevin’s Bordeaux story centres on Château Valandraud in Saint-Émilion, created by Murielle Andraud and Jean-Luc Thunevin from a 0.6-hectare holding at Fongaban. Clay and limestone, close vineyard attention and long ageing in new French oak shape reds with dark fruit, firm structure and oak presence. The name also includes Clos Badon-Thunevin in Saint-Émilion and a separate Thunevin-Calvet Maury made from Grenache.

The Producer

Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud built Château Valandraud from a very small Saint-Émilion beginning: an initial 0.6-hectare parcel at Fongaban. Valandraud is the core Bordeaux estate, while Virginie de Valandraud and 3 de Valandraud extend its wine family at different levels. In 2012, Château Valandraud entered the Saint-Émilion classification as Premier Grand Cru Classé B, a formal milestone after two decades of work around the original holding.

Place

Saint-Émilion is the Bordeaux setting for Valandraud and Clos Badon-Thunevin. At Valandraud, the Fongaban parcel matters because it was the small physical starting point from which the estate’s red-wine project grew. Clos Badon-Thunevin, acquired in 1998, adds another Saint-Émilion property to the story and was promoted to Grand Cru Classé in 2022. Thunevin-Calvet Maury belongs elsewhere: it is a Languedoc-Roussillon connection, so its Grenache should not be read as part of the Saint-Émilion wines.

Soil And Site

Valandraud’s principal red-wine soils are clay and limestone. Those materials help frame the estate’s concentrated, structured Bordeaux direction, which is then reinforced by pruning and crop management in the vineyard. At Clos Badon-Thunevin, traditional soil work is used across about 90% of the vineyard to encourage deep rooting and maintain biological activity; the site has also served as an experimental vineyard for the team since the 2000s.

Story

The project began with land before there was a finished wine. A separate account dates Thunevin and Andraud’s purchase of the first 0.6-hectare Fongaban parcel to 1989; Valandraud dates the creation of its wine and its first vintage to 1991. From there, the work widened beyond the original Saint-Émilion plot. Clos Badon-Thunevin joined in 1998, while Valandraud developed a family of labels that can carry fruit from the estate into different bottles. The result is a name rooted in one small holding but expressed through several Saint-Émilion reds and a distinct Maury partnership.

Vineyards And Cellar

At Valandraud, double-Guyot pruning, de-suckering and green harvesting concentrate attention on the fruit that remains on the vine. That work is paired with a cellar programme in which malolactic fermentation takes place in French oak barrels, then the wine spends 18 to 30 months in entirely new French oak, depending on the vintage. The consequence is not a neutral red: oak, dark-fruit weight and tannin are active parts of the wine’s shape, especially when the bottle is young.

Wines

Château Valandraud is the central Saint-Émilion wine, made through the estate’s clay-and-limestone vineyard work and extended new-oak ageing. Virginie de Valandraud sits within the same family and, in 2020, showed a full-bodied palate of creamy dark fruit, milk chocolate and spice.

3 de Valandraud is made from declassified Valandraud and Virginie de Valandraud fruit. Its 2018 blend was 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, bringing blackcurrant, dark cherry, plum, blackberry, violet and liquorice together with softened tannins, integrated oak and freshness. Clos Badon-Thunevin is a separate classified Saint-Émilion property. Beyond Bordeaux, Thunevin-Calvet Maury 2015 is a separate 100% Grenache wine.

In The Glass

Virginie de Valandraud 2020 begins with crushed rock, liquorice, black plum, smoke, espresso, truffle and flowers. The palate is rich and full-bodied rather than light, with supple texture around creamy dark fruit, milk chocolate and spice; the estate’s new-oak programme provides a useful context for those coffee and chocolate notes.

3 de Valandraud 2018 moves toward blackcurrant and dark cherry, then plum, blackberry, violet and liquorice. Merlot supplies the dark-fruit core, while Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon contribute structure to the blend. Its oak is integrated, the tannins are noticeable but softened, and freshness carries the fruit into a long finish.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with 3 de Valandraud 2018. It is a Saint-Émilion blend of 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, made from fruit declassified from Valandraud and Virginie de Valandraud. Blackcurrant, dark cherry, violet and liquorice lead into integrated oak, softened tannin and a fresh, long finish. It introduces the Valandraud family through a bottle where grape proportions, range role and palate structure are all clearly documented.

Anecdote

Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud first bought their 0.6-hectare Fongaban parcel in 1989. The holding was small, but they invested their money in turning it into a Saint-Émilion wine project. Two years later, in 1991, they created Valandraud and made its first vintage. The dates mark two separate moments: first the purchase of the parcel, then the arrival of the wine. That original Fongaban holding remains the physical beginning of Château Valandraud’s story, long before the estate entered the 2012 Saint-Émilion classification as Premier Grand Cru Classé B.

Final Word

Thunevin is most revealing through the contrast between its wines: Saint-Émilion reds shaped by clay, limestone, crop work and new oak, alongside a separate Maury Grenache. 3 de Valandraud provides the most direct first taste of the Bordeaux side.

Sources

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