2022 Château Tronquoy, St. Estèphe
£119 per 6 bottle case in bond
It is clear that much effort has gone into elevating the quality of the newly rebranded Tronquoy, formerly Tronquoy-Lalande. This Château is under the same ownership as Montrose, and therefore benefits from the same winemaking team. A blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot, the 2022 offers aromas of dusky fruits, mulberry, blueberry and damson, as well as classic St. Estèphe notes of iodine. This is a bolder example than I recall tasting before, with more depth on the palate, with a good solid core of dark, brooding fruit. Certainly, a wine that will require some patient cellarage before being broached; the tannins are finely expressed but lend direction. There is a sense that this vintage has plenty in reserve. Likely to be a keenly-priced example. Drink 2029-2042 (SL).
93 points, Jane Anson, janeanson.com
Black cherry and damson fruit, intense, concentrated sweet red liquorice and creamy cappuccino, balanced by bitter chocolate and dried herbs on the finish. This is clearly built to last, and excellent quality, in the character of the vintage. Tasted twice. 30% new oak. Harvest September 7 to 23. 37hl.h yield. First vintage without the ‘Lalande’ part of the name.
89-91 points, William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
The 2022 Tronquoy (formerly Tronquoy-Lalande) is an especially rich and powerful wine, offering up aromas of dark berries and cherries framed by creamy new oak, followed by a medium to full-bodied, rich and fleshy palate structured around lively acids and powdery tannins that assert themselves on the vanillin-inflected finish. A blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot (which is an atypically high percentage of Cabernet from this estate, especially in a vintage where Merlot delivered better yields), it would appear to be intended to make an impression en primeur, as Tronquoy is now being sold on the place. That's a pity, as this estate's considerable intrinsic qualities would surely have made enough of an impression on their own.
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All the best
Simon