The 2018 L’Espérance de Trotanoy is the more accessible second wine of the esteemed Château Trotanoy in Pomerol. Made from gravel-rich parcels of the estate, this vintage opens with vibrant aromas of blueberry preserves, Morello cherries, and warm spices. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied with soft, silky textures and lifted freshness, showcasing a more approachable yet still complex and richly flavored expression of the Trotanoy terroir. Scrumptious and seductive, it’s perfect for earlier drinking while maintaining the depth of its grand vin roots.

The Wine Advocate | RP 91
Published: Mar 31, 2021
Drink: 2022-2036

Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 L'Esperance de Trotanoy comes skipping out of the glass with fabulously open, youthful scents of blueberry preserves, Morello cherries, fruitcake and cinnamon stick with touches of menthol, chocolate box and potpourri. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers lovely freshness, lifting the rich, spicy black and blue fruit layers to a long, seductively soft-textured finish. Scrumptious!

Winemaker

Purchased by Jean-Pierre Moueix in 1953, Chateau Trotanoy was 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 Esperance 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 flavor that are so characteristic of Trotanoy's unique terroir.

The Trotanoy vineyard, located in one of the best-exposed areas of the plateau and spared, in part, by the dramatic frosts of 1956, slopes gently to the west. The soil is a very dense mixture of clay and gravel which tends to solidify as it dries out after rain to an almost concrete-like hardness, hence the name Trot-anoy, too wearisome to cultivate.

The soil at the highest point of exposure contains a good proportion of gravel, becoming progressively more dominated by clay as the elevation declines. Under this clay is a subsoil of red gravel and an impermeable layer of hard, iron-rich soil known as crasse de fer. This fascinating soil diversity brings power, depth and complexity to the wines.

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.