Robert Parker's Wine Advocate : Tasted with Jean-Luc Thunevin in Saint Emilion, the 2006 Valandraud is pure Merlot, since he told me that the Cabernet Franc had not ripened sufficiently that year. It offers an attractive, matured bouquet with cough candy and star anise infusing the red berry fruit that is beginning to move into its secondary stage.
The palate is medium-bodied with slightly coarse tannin compared to more recent vintages, mulberry and tarry notes with a rather stolid finish that needs a little more finesse to come through. Not bad, though I think Jean-Luc has "honed his craft" since this vintage.
