Wine Advisor
Trotanoy 2018
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2018 Trotanoy is composed of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it slowly unfurls to reveal a jaw-dropping perfume of Black Forest cake, black raspberries, blackberry pie and kirsch, followed by hints of cast-iron pan, violets, woodsmoke, Chinese five spice and eucalyptus, with a waft of tree bark. The full-bodied palate explodes with exotic spice and mineral fireworks, grounded by a concentrated, black and red berry preserves core and framed by firm, grainy tannins, finishing with epic length and depth. It will need a good five years in bottle to tame some of the youthfully overt, showy fruit and allow the mineral and earth nuances to emerge, then it should easily cellar another 35 years or more.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The medium to deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Trotanoy is made of 90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. The first sniff and WOW, it gives an incredible perfume of red roses, candied violets, molten licorice and spice cake over a core of plum preserves, raspberry compote, dried mulberries, iron ore and camphor plus a waft of woodsmoke. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is laden with exquisitely polished, beautifully poised red and black fruit layers with loads of mineral sparks, framed by super ripe, rounded tannins and wonderful freshness, finishing very long, culminating in a lingering ferrous note.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2018 Trotanoy is a bold, powerful wine. In this vintage, some of the imposing structure that is such a Trotanoy signature has been replaced by super-expressive aromatics and striking detail. Dried herbs, iron, gravel and crushed rose petals all lend gorgeous savory nuance to a core of potent red berry fruit. Trotanoy is a Pomerol for those who can be patient. The 2018, though, is extraordinarily beautiful right out of the gate.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2018 Trotanoy is insanely beautiful. Remarkably finessed, and, dare I say it understated, for a young Trotanoy, the 2018 speaks with a regal, aristocratic tone. The classic sense of verticality and depth that is such a Trotanoy signature is present, but I am also very much struck by the level of detail and overall precision in the wine. Dark stone fruit, licorice, gravel and lavender are some of the many notes that begin to develop in the glass, but ultimately, Trotanoy is a wine to treasure for its exquisite balance.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2018 Trotanoy is one that I described as one of the vintage’s best wines when I tasted it from barrel. Now in bottle, it delivers a heavenly bouquet of mixed red and black fruit, iron filing, truffle and mint aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with wonderful structure and poise. This is an extremely complex Pomerol, lightly peppered with gentle but insistent grip toward the finish. You can feel it lingering in the mouth for 60 seconds afterward. Returning to the same bottle the following day, it had, remarkably, blossomed into an even greater Pomerol, gaining cohesion and revealing its symmetry and structure, with even more complexity and nuance on the finish. A titan.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2018 Trotanoy has a barnstorming bouquet with intense blackberry, black truffle, warm gravel and bay leaf aromas that instantly seduced the senses. Quintessential Trotanoy. The palate is medium-bodied and packed with black and red fruit laced with minerals. You can feel the energy and tension of this Trotanoy, the distinctive gravelly terroir shining through from start till the end. The finish is almost pixelated in definition, completing not just one of the best Pomerols of the vintage, but one of the vintage’s best wines.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
This is such a pinpointed and precise wine that shows a fantastic center palate of ripe and rich fruit with a combination of chocolate and cedar. Full-bodied, racy and focused. Lasts for minutes.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Super nose of dried blueberry, black plum, walnut, myrrh and sandalwood. Lavender, violet, and chocolate, too. Ripe with wood now, but fresh. It’s full-bodied with firm, ultra fine tannins. Lots of dark spice is interlaced with the ripe fruit, giving this complex, perfumed character. Muscular, long and seamless with incredible depth and concentration. Reminds me of the great 2009, but this is better with more structure. Amazing wine. This is 100% merlot. Try from 2027.
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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