Chateau Trotanoy 2019

Superb aromatics, cherry and black olive; stunningly racy, with truly classy tannins, a smouldering fire and endless length; leaves you speechless. Even after ageing, it has lost none of its class.

Dense and ripe yet sleek and restrained, with a core of cassis, blackberry paste and fig pâte de fruit notes, flanked by warm earth, roasted alder and tobacco. The finish is underscored by a bolt of cast iron, with everything knitting steadily through to the end. Offers a serious tarry grip, too. Best from 2026 through 2042. 1,250 cases made, 162 cases imported.

Fine structure and dark Merlot flavors give this wine its richness. Despite the alcohol, it has style, the fruit not overwhelmed by the weight. It will take time, so drink from 2027.

Ripe and expressive on the nose, with a serious perfumed edge that stands out. Quite floral in fact. Powerful and well built, this has muscles and walls of tannin but they're so smooth and velvety, supporting the fruit and giving an excellent frame to the palate. Certainly a masculine style, it's dark and brooding with lots of mint, liquorice and stone. Textured and taught. It's all muscle at the moment, almost chewy but so cool and refreshing. I love the intensity and the precision from start to finish. Incredible.

Aromas of peanut brittle, blackberries, crushed stones, violets and blueberries. Full-bodied and powerful with layers of creamy, velvety and juicy tannins. A classic Trotanoy with true character of itself. Wonderful length and character. Best after 2027.

The 2019 Trotanoy is powerful and brooding, and yet it is also less forbidding at this stage than most vintages. The feeling is one of breadth and gravitas, as black fruit, gravel, smoke, tar and incense lend distinctly sepia-toned inflections throughout. Trotanoy needs time, as it always does, but the 2019 should start drinking well on the earlier side, in relative terms, of course.

This could rival the heart-stopping 2018. The depth of color lets you know this is special. One whiff of its showy display of plums, flowers, truffle, chocolate, black cherries, and incense, and you are sold. But when you get to the velvet-textured, opulent palate, you are blown away by how this caresses your palate. Plush, lush, silky, velvet-drenched layers of fruit hit you in non-stop waves. When this wine matures, it is going to be one of the great vintages of Trotanoy, Fans of the estate, and Pomerol with the disposable income should be all of this gem. Wait a minimum of a decade, twice that if you can, and enjoy for 2-3 decades after that! Drink from 2030-2055.

Dark ruby, purple reflections, discreet bright rim. Dark cherries, but also fine red berry nuances, delicate liquorice and nougat, fine noble wood touch. Substantial, chocolatey, at the same time full of cherry fruit and freshness, supporting ripe tannins, mineral and long, shows very great length, seems incredibly lively on the finish despite all the power, remains very long, great future potential.

Dark core and ruby towards the rim. Youthful but layered and intense nose – stony hints with ripe dark fruit – cassis, kirsch, violet and rose petal. Great density and concentration with fine proportions between sweet fruit, fresh acidity and a wealth of ultra-fine tannins; intense, very lingering flavours, a long and powerful finish, yet elegant all the way.

Reminding me a little of the 1998, the 2019 Château Trotanoy is all Merlot sourced from a 7-hectare vineyard planted on dark clay and gravelly soils. A prodigious wine in every way, it offers a serious, dense, powerful, full-bodied style as well as notes of ripe black cherries, damp earth, tobacco, cedar pencil, and graphite. As with the other top wines in the vintage, it has an incredible sense of purity and precision, building, firm tannins, awesome mid-palate depth, and a huge finish. It's not for those seeking instant gratification and is much more structured and backward than I would have thought from barrel. It needs a solid decade of bottle age and will have 40+ years of longevity. It's another brilliant, brilliant wine from this team that I wish every reader could taste.

Black cherry by the bucket load, muscular and just a little monolithic at this early stage, the standing stone of Pomerol, so effortlessly itself. This really does take its time, but there are waves of flavour that slowly but surely appear. Chiselled black chocolate shavings, smoky espresso, rosemary, pencil lead, truffles and a wall of tannins. A flash of bitter spice on the finish. Harvest September 21, with everything coming in during just one day, 32hl/ha yield, and unusually only Merlot as parts of the vineyard are being replanted. This needs time to unwind, and I may be underestimating how high it will go.

The 2019 Trotanoy, 100% Merlot, is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs swirling to bring out decadent scents of blueberry preserves and prunes, followed by notes of lavender, star anise, and crushed rocks with a ferrous undercurrent. The full-bodied palate has tons of energy with loads of mineral sparks and a racy line, textured by very fine, ripe tannins, finishing with great length.

At once floral and earthy, with its hallmark satiny texture and a finish of peppery rose. Trotanoy has everything it takes to become one of the most subtle wines of the vintage, with its vibrant fresh fruit, breadth and generosity.

A small, tightly coiled ball—dense and mysterious—just begging to unfurl. “Open sesame!” And Trotanoy listens, opening up finger by finger to reveal a delicious, alluring nose, fresh and floral, with a hint of chocolate, sending shivers down your spine from the nape of your neck. On the palate, it shows a velvety texture—suave, deep—with something mysterious, even mystical. Monumental and finely chiselled, it has the light power of a gentle giant.

Bright by nature, Trotanoy excels in its ability to reveal its greatness with discretion, delicacy and humility. It has little need to exult or speak loudly; its serenity does that for it! Plenty of grace, elegance and balance on the palate. The tannins are velvety and powerful, in step with the freshness of the acidity to form a harmonious whole. An exceptional wine that can certainly be enjoyed at any time.

Dark, intense, beautiful color. Very aromatic nose, refined, fruity and subtle. A blend of Graves-like aromas with creamy, truffled nuances. A very different expression. Delicate on the attack, very aromatic on the mid-palate, with plenty of flavor, the wine builds upward from mid-palate to finish, which is very rare for a 100% Merlot. Here, the smoothness is balanced by fresh aromatic notes (ink, pure oak). These complex variations are superb. Lovely length.