Wine Advisor
Tronquoy Lalande 2012
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 2012 Tronquoy-Lalande is composed of 57% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and tiny dosages of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. A sleeper of the vintage, this dense ruby/purple-hued, medium to full-bodied effort exhibits plenty of creme de cassis, spring flower, forest floor and crushed rock-like characteristics. Loaded with fruit, with a long, velvety finish, it should drink nicely for 10-15 years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted as a barrel sample at en primeur. In 2012, the Petit Verdot did not receive complete ripeness and so it was almost entirely demoted into the Second wine. The nose is quite elegant and refined with blackberry, cassis and just a touch of pencil shaving – quite Pauillac in style. The palate is nicely balanced on the entry, fresh in the mouth with that graphite note evident at Cos d’Estournel. It is a masculine wine with good structure on the finish, if not quite the length of previous vintages. Fine, but somehow conservative and it drops away quite rapidly. Tasted April 2013.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This fabulous, opaque ruby/purple-colored 2012 comes from an up-and-coming, overachieving estate in St.-Estèphe, owned by the proprietors of Montrose. There’s a good chunk of Merlot (57%) in the blend of this excellent wine (the balance is 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot), which delivers sweet cassis and blueberry fruit that hits the palate with serious authority, admirable purity, impressive texture and a medium-bodied, long finish. This is an undeniable success and major sleeper of the vintage.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
A dark, brooding wine, the 2012 Tronquoy Lalande offers up an enticing bouquet of sweet red plum, tobacco, game, earthiness, smoke and leather. Today, the 2012 is a bit wild and rough around the edges, but it nevertheless possesses plenty of density and enough richness to drink well for the better part of the next decade, perhaps longer. Iron, savory herbs and smoke add complexity on the exuberant finish. The 2012 is going to need at least a few years to settle down, as the tannins are quite fierce today. Still, the Tronquoy Lalande is clearly an overachiever in its peer group.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A wine with fine tannins and fresh fruit. Medium body, with pretty, spicy fruit and a clean finish.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Starts off earthy and spicy but turns to dark fruits such as raspberries and blackberries. Full body, chewy tannins and a medium finish. Needs a year or two to soften. Better in 2017. Well done for vintage.
About the Producer
Château Tronquoy-Lalande is a 30-hectare estate in St Estèphe on Bordeaux’s Left Bank. The property is owned by the Bouygues family, proprietors of nearby Ch. Montrose. In her book Inside Bordeaux, Jane Anson calls Tronquoy-Lalande “one of the most reliable buys of the appellation.” The Bouygues family bought Tronquoy-Lalande in 2006. Their portfolio also includes near-neighbour Montrose, Clos Rougeard in Saumur-Champigny and a majority stake in Domaine Henri Rebourseau in Gevrey-Chambertin. Hervé Berland, formerly Managing Director at Ch. Mouton Rothschild, oversees all the estates. Tronquoy-Lalande’s Operations Manager, Yves Delsol, has been here for decades. The 30-hectare vineyard surrounds the château. Soils here are deep gravel and clay. Plantings are a majority of Merlot (52%), with 39% Cabernet Sauvignon and the balance split between Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. A new winery was completed here in 2010.
