Château Tronquoy 2011

Critic scores

• James Suckling93-94
• Wine Enthusiast92
• Vinous90

The 2011 vintage in Saint-Estèphe

Vintage benchmark: 87/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: A scorching spring followed by a wet August turned the seasons upside down: classic wines, shorter but true to type.

Overall reading of the year’s season across Saint-Estèphe. An estate can depart from it sharply, in frost or hail years, where two neighbours did not make the same vintage. What this particular wine actually gave is on its technical sheet and in the scores above.

Tasting

Beautiful dark and shiny robe, with an intense red, almost garnet. The nose is already expressive, fresh and spicy, combining finesse and elegance. Slight woody with light fruity notes. The palate is frank; whilst the mid-mouth is very balanced revaling pleasant well matured tannins. Beautiful after-taste, quite long, soft and silky. Easy to drink, a rather elegant wine reflecting well its terroir.

Blend of the 2011 vintage

Figures from the 2011 sheet

• 48 hl/haYield

Terroir

The terroir of Tronquoy-Lalande has a soil ideally suited to the flourishing of Merlot. This variety accounts for the majority of the plantings (52%) and points to a distinctive feature that sets Tronquoy-Lalande apart from its neighbours, where Cabernet Sauvignon dominates. Cabernet Sauvignon follows at 39%, then Petit Verdot (6%) and Cabernet Franc (3%). The vineyard enjoys an ideal exposure, very favourable to the ripening of the grapes. The soil is composed of a mixture of gravel and clay more than 8 metres thick. Gravel has the particular quality of being very free-draining, while clay holds water at depth and releases it according to need. The vineyard lies 23 metres above sea level. The gravel rises formed naturally over the centuries encourage the drainage of rainwater. In addition, the Gironde estuary, very close by, acts as a thermal regulator.