TROTANOY [POMEROL] 2017 750ML

A very pure nose that exudes poise and precision, in every aspect of this wine’s composition. Aromas of violets, blueberries, cedar, fresh truffle, wet earth and plums lead to a palate that offers a very full, plush and intense core of pristinely ripened red-plum fruit and mouthwatering freshness, as well as tannins that imbue the long, balanced finish with great clarity. Incredible triumph for the vintage.

A lush, velvety Pomerol, dripping with raspberry, plum and cassis fruit aromas and flavors, infused with rooibos tea, sandalwood, mineral and bergamot notes. The finish is very long and finely beaded.

This has lashings of liquorice and black chocolate standing head and shoulders above many in the vintage, full of grace and build and body. A welcome respite in a difficult year because here you don't feel the need to say 'a great wine given the circumstances...'. It's not as powerful or ripped as the 2016 or 2018 for certain, but it can stand its ground and would be better than many vintages of lesser wines. Austere, still with plenty of bite to the tannins, but excellent.

The 2017 Chateau Trotanoy checks in as 100% Merlot and comes from 7.2 hectares of gravelly, clay, and iron-laced soils on the plateau of Pomerol. Revealing a medium ruby/purple hue as well as powerful notes of creme de cassis, scorched earth, chocolate, graphite, and unsmoked tobacco, this beauty is full-bodied, has a stacked mid-palate, building tannins, and a great finish. Very much in the classic, elegant, focused style of the vintage, it has more fruit and texture than most, is flawlessly balanced, and will benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and drink brilliantly for two decades or more. This showed much better from bottle than barrel and is well worth seeking out and cellaring.

The 2017 Trotanoy is a dark, brooding wine, as it so often is. The tannins are forbidding at this stage, but then again, that is Trotanoy. Smoke, incense, game and a whole range of mineral inflections run through the 2017. Energetic and impeccable in its balance, Trotanoy is compelling in 2017, but readers need to cellar it for a few years at least, after which it will drink well for a number of decades.

Showing the depth and power of ripe Merlot, this wine has concentration and great richness. Its tannins and bold black fruit flavors point to considerable aging potential.