Aromas of blackberries, walnuts, dark chocolate, and currants follow through to a medium body, with very fine, soft and polished tannins and a delicious finish. Very attractive now but will improve beautifully. Second wine of Valandraud. Needs four to five years to soften. Better after 2026.

(92-94 points) The 2020 Château Valandraud Virginie De Valandraud is also beautiful, with an up-front, charming yet balanced and layered style. Revealing notes of smoked tobacco, leafy herbs, chalky minerality, and both darker currant and cherry fruits, it’s ripe, medium to full-bodied, and already hard to resist.

The 2020 Virginie de Valandraud is alluring, just as it was from barrel. Silky and wonderfully deep, the Virginie possesses tremendous depth and textural intensity. Black cherry, plum, leather, licorice, menthol and gravel fill out the layers nicely. This sleek, polished Saint-Emilion is an absolute winner. - AG

(91-93 points) Earthy, savory, fresh and filled with fruit, the wine is ripe, bold, sweet, juicy and rich. The voluptuous layers of fruits in the finish, along with their cool touch of mint really sticks with you. You can drink this young, or age it for 3-5 years and enjoy it over the following decade. Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/wine-tasting-note/?vintage=2020&wine=Virginie%20de%20Valandraud

(WA 91-93 points) Deep purple-black in color, the 2020 Virginie de Valandraud charges out of the gate with bold baked plums, boysenberries and blackberry pie scents, followed by hints of mocha, cedar chest, clove oil and dried Provence herbs. The full-bodied, oak-laced palate is rich and concentrated, the dense black fruits countered by wonderful freshness and plush tannins, finishing long and spicy. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown