JS98: Another just about perfect wine is the 2005 Château Valandraud, and had it not been tasted beside the 2010, I might have upped the rating. Awesome dark currants, ripe baked cherries, chocolate, truffly earth, and spice all define the bouquet, and it's full-bodied, with a dense, concentrated, opulent mouthfeel, beautiful tannins, and no hard edges. It's fully mature and just a singular, truly “wow” wine from Jean-Luc that's ideal for drinking any time over the coming 15-20 years or more.

RP97: This may be the most prodigious wine Jean-Luc Thunevin and his partner Murielle Andraud have made to date. Inky purple to the rim at age ten, this wine’s explosive aromatics include espresso, chocolate, plum, blackberry and cassis. The oak is well-hidden behind an extravagant, full-bodied, multi-layered palate. Stunningly pure, super-intense and just beginning to move into middle adolescence, the “Bad Boy” of Bordeaux has produced a legend in 2005.