Thunevin


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In the mid-1980s, a free spirit arrived in the village of Saint-Émilion, selling postcards, then opening wine bars and restaurants, before learning from friends how to make wine and eventually producing excellent wines! A rebel spirit in the vineyards Jean-Luc Thunevin does not have the profile of the typical winemaker who inherited a family business and an ancestral castle. He was not born in the vineyards of Bordeaux, but on an agricultural farm in Algeria, did not attend the School of Oenology, but the School of Lumberjacks; nevertheless, wine is his forte. Portrait. Luxurious garage wine If garage wine refers in the common imagination to the domestic wine made by the Italians in America, for the oenophile, it is something else: a wine as sublime as it is rare. The expression was created to describe a wine that Jean-Luc Thunevin, a bar owner in Saint-Emilion, had fun making in his garage with grapes from his small plot, from which he made not even 1300 bottles. Surprise! This Chateau Valandraud, with its exceptional concentration, turned out to be divine. Critics, including Robert Parker, have praised it, and the expression, if mocking at first, has become an "uncontrolled" appellation of origin! About Bad Boy Noting the success of this rebellious newcomer to the Bordeaux landscape, Robert Parker had another colourful phrase for him: Thunevin is the Bad Boy of Bordeaux. Once again, the expression has stuck, and has even been taken up by the principal interested party, who has not hesitated to baptize some of his products with it. The Bad family, not bad at all! Thus were born Bad Boy (classic Bordeaux), Baby Bad Boy (merlot and grenache, under the appellation Vin de France) and Bad Girl, a Crémant de Bordeaux offered in rosé and white. Critically acclaimed, the line appeals to neo-consumers thanks to its democratic appeal, as evidenced by the bottle labels featuring black sheep with a very Thunevin-like attitude. Climbing the ladder Jean-Luc and Murielle have surrounded themselves with a high quality team with whom they have worked hard so that in 2012, Château Valandraud went from Grand Cru to 1er Grand Cru Classé. "We produce exceptional wines here from a "cold" terroir that allows us to have perfect maturity with a beautiful freshness." - Jean-Luc Thunevin