Jean-Luc and Murielle Thunevin

Etablissements Thunevin

Jean-Luc Thunevin became a “star” of the wine world within less than a decade thanks to his very famous ‘garage wine’ Chateau Valandraud.

It might be a winetasting of Le Pin, a Pomerol made from a tiny vineyard that gave rise to his desire to make an exceptional wine too. Thanks to his passion for wine, his determination and his desperate eagerness, he could make his wish become real from the first vintage, in 1991, of his Chateau Valandraud.

This vintage notes the beginning of a wonderful adventure and a flashing success.

He inspired many winemakers and initiated numerous other ‘garage wines’. All these micro-cuvées realized from low yields produce concentrated wines.
Murielle, his wife, plays an important role in the success of this imposing wine. Indeed she brings the most detailed care to the vines: specific pruning adapted to each vine, deleafing to aerate the grape, green harvest to cut away the excess bunches and limit them to six for each vine-plant.

On his side, Jean-Luc Thunevin decides the harvest date once the grapes have reached the optimal maturity. For the winemaking, he adopted the Burgundy’s techniques of punching of the cap in the fermenting vat (pigeage) and stirring of the lies in the oak barrel in order to get the maximum extraction for his wines. He does no fining, no filtration, but racking barrel to barrel every three months.

Always trying to reach excellence, his work methods are extreme to produce stupendous wines: dark, ripe and opulent.

During those years of strenuous work, Jean-Luc Thunevin has been developing a know-how and proficiency that he shares with many other properties like Chateau Fleur Cardinale (Saint-Emilion Grand Cru), Château Haut-Mazeris (Fronsac et Canon Fronsac), Chateau Andréas (Saint-Emilion Grand Cru), Chateau Balestard (Appellation Bordeaux), Marojallia (Appellation Margaux) to quote only few of them. Furthermore, Jean-Luc Thunevin bought Château Bellevue de Tayac, Margaux.

Click here to visit Jean-Luc Thunevin’s Blog.

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Vve Fourny & Fils Ratafia

Vve Fourny & Fils

If the Champagne is closely associated to the Champagne-Ardenne, there is another typically Champagne production which has to be discovered, it is Ratafia. This sweetened aperitif owes the origins of its name with all the drinks which is drunk during the ratification of a treaty. Ratafia is made with the rest of the grape of pinot recovered at the exit of the press, without any filtration, mixed with a marc brandy. Once prepared, the base is at least reserved two years out of barrels of oak, which will give him its superb brown color.

Just before the end of the process, the Ratafia is around 18° of alcohol. It must be served between 6 and 8°C to appreciate as well as possible its flavors of Marc, of candied fruits and citrus fruits bark. In general offered out of aperitif, Ratafia will be a must with a melon, a piece of foie gras or a blue cheese or with spotted paste. Test it with a chocolate cake and you will appreciate this quite unusual but so delicious mix.

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