Château Tronquoy 2017

The 2017 vintage in Saint-Estèphe

Vintage benchmark: 85/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: April frost cut the crop in half: the plots that were spared give fine, classic wines, and the vintage must be judged estate by estate.

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 bright red color with fine violet highlights. The elegant nose reveals notes of red fruit and a subtle oakiness. The palate is broad, with fine acidity and a persistent length. To be enjoyed now and in a few years' time.

Blend of the 2017 vintage

Winemaking

Traditional vinification in stainless steel vats. The wine is left on the skins for 18-22 days in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats.

Ageing

12 months. 50% in oak barrels.

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.