Clos Badon Thunevin

The château

Clos Badon lies at the foot of the Côte Pavie, with Pavie, Larcis Ducasse and La Gaffelière for neighbors. In 1899 the English edition of Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret’s guide, the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, listed the properties of Badon and Patarabet under Bertin-Roulleau among the 2es crus, at 25 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels), on land that had largely belonged to the old Goursies de Malet estate, next to Simard and cut off from La Gaffelière by the railway, and planted only in the old French vines: Pressac, Malbec, Merlot and Bouchet. A history of Saint-Émilion published in 1923 printed Clos Badon on its own, a classified cru under Ulysse Dugos, an elegant little vineyard south of the slopes of the great firsts.

Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud, who had made Valandraud the first of the garage wines at the start of the 1990s, bought Clos Badon in 1998. It is made in the historic cellar in the town where those wines were born, rebuilt in 2016 and 2017 and fitted with new stainless steel vats in 2018; the family’s hotel and wine shop stand beside it. Murielle Andraud directs the vineyard, and the team of Michel Rolland, who died in 2026, advises. The grapes have been sorted by density since 2008, and the blend is set vintage by vintage. The list approved in September 2022 made it a Grand Cru Classé, the first time it had held the rank.

The vineyard is 5.8 hectares of sandy gravel, half Merlot and half Cabernet Franc, with the oldest vines planted in 1954. Since 2000 it has been the family’s trial estate for organic growing: the soils are worked, green manures sown and the vines pruned to a double Guyot. The 2022, which I tasted in October 2025, marks a high point for the estate: intensity wrapped in silk, deep and ripe Merlot fruit, fine tannins, and a vivid freshness that keeps the richness in check.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

Commune

Saint-Émilion, at the foot of the Côte Pavie

Classification

Grand Cru Classé in 2022, for the first time

Owners

Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud, since 1998

Direction

Murielle Andraud

Consultant

The team of Michel Rolland, who died in 2026

Vineyard

5.8 hectares; the oldest vines planted in 1954

Soil

Sandy gravel Terroir of Saint-Émilion →

Grapes

Merlot 50%, Cabernet Franc 50%

Farming

The family’s trial estate for organic growing since 2000; soils worked, green manures sown

Cellar

Sorting by density since 2008; the historic cellar in the town, rebuilt in 2016 and 2017; stainless steel vats since 2018

Wines

Clos Badon Thunevin

In history

Badon and Patarabet among the 2es crus at 25 tonneaux in 1899; a classified cru under Ulysse Dugos in 1923