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Description
Tasting notes

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
I don't think this wine will ever live up to the extraordinary 1998, but it is not far off the mark. Dense plum/garnet-colored, it is closed aromatically, but aeration brings out hints of figs, black cherries, earth, and cedar. Sweet on the attack, dense, powerful, medium to full-bodied, and tannic, with a broodingly backward finish, patience will be required. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2030.

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 2000 is profound. A dense murky ruby/purple color is followed by sensational aromas of black fruits, cherries, figs, plums, truffles, and earth. Extremely full-bodied and deep, with huge flavor extraction, sweet but noticeable tannin, and a 50-second finish, this compelling Trotanoy signals a return to form for this great terroir, which, during the fifties, sixties, and early seventies, often rivaled Petrus.

Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A very deep, almost opaque garnet colour. A very intense nose of blackberry, plum, a touch of hoi sin and a touch of liquorice. Broody and backward but it will reward those with patience to cellar. The palate is full-bodied, quite tannic and suffused with puissance. Masculine, a touch of tobacco and roasted herbs on the back palate from the Cabernet Franc. Intense, quite conservative and introverted at the moment. Great length. A superb Trotanoy, but one presently closing down. Drink 2015-2035. Tasted May 2007.

Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the Trotanoy vertical in Hong Kong, the 2000 Trotanoy seems to be improving with age. It has an outstanding bouquet with far more fruit intensity than I anticipated: mulberry, blackberry, briary, broom and white pepper all mingling together with superb delineation. The palate displays exquisite balance, fresh and focused with a clean and precise finish that is only just beginning to show what it can do. Like so many millennial Bordeaux it has matured at its own pace, however, on this showing it seems determined to reward those with the greatest patience. Tasted November 2016.

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This beautiful wine turned out slightly better than I had predicted seven years ago. Abundant sweet aromas of black cherries, damp earth, forest floor, and cocoa are both ripe and enticing. The wine is full-bodied, dense, and just beginning to shed its tannins. Generous and opulent, it is beginning to enter its plateau of full maturity, where it should remain for another 15-20 years.

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 2000 is a muscular offering with elegant, deep, concentrated flavors. An earthy concoction of truffles, caramel, mocha, cherries, currants, and plums is followed by a big, deep, masculine wine with moderately high tannin, abundant power, and exceptional concentration. There is enough sweetness to balance the tannin, but this 2000 needs cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2022.

Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata
95% merlot and 5% cabernet franc): Deep, saturated red. Highly perfumed nose of black plum, lavender, cedar, chocolate and Oriental spices. Enters sweet, round and broad, then turns a bit tougher, with hints of earth and game complicating bright cassis and mocha flavors. There is an amazing freshness to this wine that helps extend the fruit flavors at the back, and the finish is long and smooth. In this vintage's early days it was tightly wound and austere, but it's now beginning to slowly blossom and become more expressive. This is often the case with Trotanoy, which usually needs a good ten years from the vintage to really come into its own. A very successful 2000.

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright ruby-red. Liqueur-like aromas of kirsch, blueberry, truffle and dark chocolate. Sweet, chewy and impressively concentrated, with terrific grip. But this extremely young and powerful Trotanoy is still a bit disjointed today, presenting liqueur-like southern flavors as well as a medicinal component. Finishes long and firm, with terrific grip. Not quite as stylish as the heartbreaking '98 Trotanoy, but a wine with strong potential.

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Medium ruby. Raspberry, mocha, tobacco, dark chocolate, spicy oak and a mineral pungency on the expressive but youthful nose. Sweet, classy and penetrating, with terrific spine and lively acidity giving the wine a captivating lightness. But this very young wine has considerable underlying flesh and a very long, fine, gripping finish.

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Saturated dark ruby. Noble aromas of cassis, blackberry, violet, iron and bitter chocolate; perfumed yet restrained today. Very tightly wound and concentrated; not currently revealing its personality or inherent sweetness but built for long aging. At once austere and gutsy. Opened slowly and inexorably to reveal sharply delineated flavors of dark berries and minerals. Finishes with substantial even tannins and subtle, palate-staining black fruits.

Reviewed by: James Suckling
This starts off with fabulous aromas of milk chocolate, plums and subtle spices. Full bodied, with super silky tannins and a long, long finish. Tight but just starting to open up. I’m loving the fresh acidity at the end. Needs another five to six years bottle age. Pull the cork in 2016.
About the Producer
Purchased by Jean-Pierre Moueix in 1953, Château Trotanoy 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. 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.