Esperance de Trotanoy 2014

Esperance de Trotanoy 2014, considered one of the premier crus of Pomerol as of the eighteenth century. Since 2009, a selection of gravel-based parcels on the north-eastern part of the estate have been dedicated to Espérance de Trotanoy, a wine that is fruit-forward and approachable after just a few years of cellaring, but that maintains the depth, complexity, and incredible concentration of flavour that are so characteristic of Trotanoy’s unique terroir.

Esperance de Trotanoy, which is produced in limited quantities and only in certain years, is vinified in small concrete vats and aged in French oak barrels. Merlot (90%) and Cabernet Franc (10%) display dark berries on the nose, with an exciting ferrous charge and fine chalky mineral detail. The palate is more densely fruited than the nose suggests, rather taking you aback in both its grandeur and its resemblance to the great grand vin itself. There is a beautifully cohesive viscosity here, which drives powerfully through to a long, perfumed finish. Lifted and light on its feet, despite the serious fruit weight and tannic chassis.

Chateau Trotanoy is a Bordeaux wine estate in the Pomerol appellation, regarded as one of the great wines of the right bank. The Merlot-dominant wine is known for its decadent, rich style, and its prices are among the highest in Bordeaux.

In the 18th Century, the estate was known as Trop Ennuie, or “Too Annoying”, due to the poor, hard-to-work nature of the soils here. These are made up of clay with deposits of gravel and iron, and are now considered as very good soils for viticulture. Château Trotanoy is located on the western side of the Pomerol plateau, not far from Pétrus and Lafleur, and covers 7 hectares (18 acres). Around 90 percent of this is planted to Merlot, with Cabernet Franc accounting for the remainder. Trotanoy was one of the few estates that was not destroyed in the frosts of 1956, and therefore has some of the oldest vines in the region.