Wine Advisor
Trotanoy 2016
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2016 Trotanoy is a blend of 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc this year. It easily possesses the finest bouquet within the J-P Moueix portfolio. It blossoms in the glass with exuberant black and red fruit infused with minerals, black truffle and a hint of blood orange, yet there is always something enigmatic about Trotanoy at this primordial stage, something on which you cannot put your finger. The palate is medium-bodied with firm structure, slightly chalky tannins surrounded by wondrous, vibrant black fruit that shimmers in the glass. It is a brilliant Trotanoy that is bound up with energy and tension. Superb from start to finish, this is likely to surpass the 2015 and is one of the stars of Pomerol this vintage.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Trotanoy is quite simply one of the wines of 2016. Outrageously beautiful, deep and resonant, Trotanoy captures all the best the vintage has to offer. Super-ripe dark red and purplish berry fruit races across the palate. The firm, broad Trotanoy tannins are there, but they are nearly buried by the sheer intensity of the fruit. The 2016 is an epic wine in the making. Don't miss it.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2016 Trotanoy offers black cherry, raspberry and rose petal scents on the nose, developing more red fruit and touches of brown spice. This is a mercurial bouquet, very involving, and I wish I could have spent longer with it! The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity, tightening up toward a structured finish that is clearly built for long-term cellaring. Good potential, but this needs serious time. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2010 Trotanoy is surly and backward on the nose, clearly a Pomerol demanding extended cellaring. The palate is medium-bodied, its bold tannic chassis just beginning to soften. This has a superb bead of acidity threaded through the bell pepper-tinged, tertiary black fruit with a gentle but insistent grip on the finish. This is clearly a Pomerol of real pedigree and I adore its truffly aftertaste. Excellent. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2016 Trotanoy is one of my favorite Pomerols. I have now tasted in excess of 40 vintages, and it’s becoming clearer to me which ones belong in the top drawer. The 2016 is nearly there. It has a disarming bouquet of blackberry, wild hedgerow, black truffle and crushed stone, plus a trace of pencil box in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with immense density and grip. It coats the mouth in Merlot and borrows the backbone of Lafleur. I adore the mineralité and tension flowing through the persistent finish. Does it have the profundity of the greatest vintages? I need to be convinced about that. But for certain, it is a brilliant follow-up to the 2015.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Composed of 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Trotanoy is characteristically a little closed at this youthful stage, slowly unfurling to reveal compelling notions of chocolate-covered cherries, black raspberries and mulberries with touches of pencil lead, crushed rocks, underbrush and chargrill plus a fragrant waft of star anise. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins and invigorating freshness supporting the densely packed, muscular fruits, finishing very long and mineral laced.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Trotanoy is quite simply one of the wines of 2016. Outrageously beautiful, deep and resonant, Trotanoy captures all the best the vintage has to offer. Super-ripe dark red and purplish berry fruit races across the palate. The firm, broad Trotanoy tannins are there, but they are nearly buried by the sheer intensity of the fruit. The 2016 is an epic wine in the making. Don't miss it.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Wow. This is really powerful and structured with a tight and linear backbone of tannins that run through the wine, making it a solid and beautiful thing. Full-bodied, layered and strong. Exciting energy here.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
There’s decadence and complexity to this young wine, which offers spellbinding dark fruit. But there are also wild mushrooms, sandalwood, blackberries and violets on the nose, not to mention black olives. Full bodied, very deep and layered. Powerful finish. Drink after 2025.
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.
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