2021 Château Trotanoy

The 2021 Trotanoy has come together nicely. Its mid-weight structure is impossible to miss. A hint of new oak, rarely perceptible here, is a clear sign of the lighter style of the year. Spice, leather, tobacco and cedar lead into a core of dark-toned fruit. The 2021 is a rare Trotanoy that will drink well with minimal cellaring.

- Antonio Galloni (12/2023)

Always a powerful, structured wine, the 2021 Château Trotanoy comes from 7.2 hectares of vines on the southern portion of the appellation and gravelly, clay, and iron-laced soils. All Merlot, it offers a deep ruby/plum hue to go with a medium-bodied, concentrated, inward style as well as classic Trotanoy notes of ripe dark fruits, woodsmoke, iron, and leather. Concentrated, with ripe, polished, yet building tannins, it has a seamless, pure mouthfeel, and a great finish. In comparison to the more round, up-front, and pleasure-bent Fleur-Petrus, this is much more straight, deep, and focused. Give bottles a solid 4-6 years and enjoy over the following two decades. (04/2024)

The 2021 Trotanoy is 100% Merlot and it has a deep garnet-purple color. It sings of black cherries, mulberries, and fresh plums, soon opening out to reveal hints of lilacs, cinnamon stick, and clove oil. The medium-bodied palate delivers taut, muscular fruit with an approachable backbone of velvety tannins and bags of freshness, finishing on a lingering ferrous note. Very skillfully managed, this is a wonderfully accessible, delicious Trotanoy! (04/2024)

While the 2021 Trotanoy is the most muscular, structured wine in the Mouiex portfolio this year, by Trotanoy's standards, the wine is remarkably supple and charming, and it will only require a modicum of cellaring, even if it will reward more. Offering up aromas of dark cherries, plums and berries mingled with sweet soil tones, licorice and espresso roast, it's medium to full-bodied, with a broad attack, a creamy core of fruit and sweet, powdery tannins that only gently assert themselves on the finish.

- William Kelley (02/2024)