2014 Virginie de Valandraud Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 750 ml

Château Valandraud is one of the most important, influential wines to come out of Bordeaux in the past quarter-century. Proprietor Jean-Luc Thunevin literally started the garagiste movement in France, pouring his savings into a garage winery that has redefined modern Bordeaux. 

Today, that tiny vineyard purchased by Jean-Luc Thunevin and Mureille Andraud in 1991 has expanded to over 21 acres, and is responsible for Valandraud, one of the most lauded wines in all of France, crafted by world-renowned winemaker Michel Rolland. As is the case with many of the best Bordeaux, however, it rings in at well over $100 per bottle.

The 2014 Virginie de Valandraud, however, provides all the pleasure and style of the grand vin—the lush plum and blackberry aromas, full-body, rich black fruit, and tightly packed tannins—but at half the price: We’re offering it here for under $50 per bottle.

Fermented in small lots and aged in 100% new French oak, this wine has won over some of the most respected critics in the world. James Suckling awarded it 94 points, calling it “impressive...beautiful now as a young wine but will be superb in 2021.” Wine Advocate put Virginie de Valandraud’s consistent quality most succinctly, noting “it surpasses many a self-aggrandizing big gun in Saint Emilion.”

We discovered this for ourselves over dinner at Lard et Bouchon bistro in the heart of St.-Émilion. We’d spent the afternoon tasting with Jean-Luc Thunevin himself, and he sent us on our way with a bottle of the 2014 Virginie de Valandraud and strict instructions to pair it with the bistro’s classic duck confit and foie gras burger. 

It was heaven, the wine impressively structured and complex yet approachable on its own, and even more unforgettable alongside classic French fare. We all agreed that it would be just as incredible with a hamburger back home.

The “second wines” of the best producers in Bordeaux have been climbing in price for years now. Château Lafite’s 2014 Carruades de Lafite, for example, is nearly $350 a bottle… close to 7x more than this one! The 2014 Virginie de Valandraud, then, isn’t just a great wine in its own right, but a stunning deal in the larger context of Bordeaux, and a bottle that embodies modern French wines. It won’t last long here at all.