Château Trotanoy - Pomerol 2019

Château Trotanoy, purchased by Jean-Pierre Moueix in 1953, has been considered one of the premier crus of Pomerol since the end of the eighteenth century. The soil of Château Trotanoy is a very dense mixture of clay and gravel which tends to solidify as it dries out after rain to an almost concrete-like hardness, hence the name “Trotanoy,” or, in other words, “too wearisome” to cultivate.

The Trotanoy vineyard slopes gently to the west. The soil at the highest point of exposure contains a good proportion of gravel, becoming progressively more dominated by clay as the elevation declines. Under this clay is a subsoil of red gravel and an impermeable layer of hard, iron-rich soil known as “crasse de fer.” This fascinating soil diversity brings power, depth and complexity to the wine. Trotanoy is vinified in small concrete vats, while aging takes place in oak barrels (50% new).

Trotanoy is a naturally profound, complex, richly-concentrated wine with outstanding aging potential. The wine possesses a deep color and a dense, powerful nose, repeated on the palate with the addition of creamy, dark chocolate notes, and a singular concentration of flavor owed to its very old vines.

100 points Jeb Dunnuck -  "Reminding me a little of the 1998, the 2019 Château Trotanoy is all Merlot sourced from a 7-hectare vineyard planted on dark clay and gravelly soils. A prodigious wine in every way, it offers a serious, dense, powerful, full-bodied style as well as notes of ripe black cherries, damp earth, tobacco, cedar pencil, and graphite. As with the other top wines in the vintage, it has an incredible sense of purity and precision, building, firm tannins, awesome mid-palate depth, and a huge finish. It's not for those seeking instant gratification and is much more structured and backward than I would have thought from barrel. It needs a solid decade of bottle age and will have 40+ years of longevity. It's another brilliant, brilliant wine from this team that I wish every reader could taste."

99 points Vinous - "The 2019 Trotanoy is blessed with ineffable delineation on the pure, focused nose, which features touches of pencil lead and sous-bois embroidered through a mélange of red and black fruit. Astounding. The palate is perfectly balanced with seamlessly integrated oak and a cashmere texture, complete and oozing effortless class. I don’t know whether to drink or elope with this Pomerol. Better, perhaps, to stick it away in a cool damp cellar for a decade and then make all your friends jealous when you serve it. A serious contender for wine of the vintage."

98 points Decanter - "Ripe and expressive on the nose, with a serious perfumed edge that stands out. Quite floral in fact. Powerful and well built, this has muscles and walls of tannin but they're so smooth and velvety, supporting the fruit and giving an excellent frame to the palate. Certainly a masculine style, it's dark and brooding with lots of mint, liquorice and stone. Textured and taught. It's all muscle at the moment, almost chewy but so cool and refreshing. I love the intensity and the precision from start to finish. Incredible."

Producer: Château Trotanoy

Country: France

Region: Bordeaux

Varietal: Merlot

Appellation: Pomerol

Vintage: 2019

Size: 750ml