Trotanoy - Pomerol 2020

Vinous

98-98

byNeal Martinthe2/28/2025

The 2020 Trotanoy is an outstanding Pomerol with fantastic delineation and precision on the nose, unfolding with each swirl of the glass. Very focused and detailed, it features intense notes of black cherry, truffle, crushed stone and loam. The palate is quintessential Pomerol, structured like a typical Trotanoy with plenty of horsepower on the finish. There's a long, long road ahead for this wine. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.

Wine Advocate

94

byWilliam Kelleythe4/6/2023

The 2020 Trotanoy is the most powerful wine in the Mouiex portfolio this year, delivering a rich bouquet of cherries, dark berries, fruitcakes, licorice, anise and brown sugar. Full-bodied, rich and muscular, with a ripe, heady core of sun-kissed fruit and considerable structuring extract, it concludes with a broad, expansive finish that largely conceals the wine's 15% alcohol. Given its structure and substance, it will certainly require some patience.

Wine Spectator

96

byJames Molesworththe3/31/2023

Delivers a beam of alluring and lush mulberry, raspberry and black currant puree flavors while maintaining form and focus, with an underpinning of warm paving stone and humus for spine as well as focusing tobacco and alder accents along the edges. Clearly marked by the vintage, but with density and definition that differentiate this from the pack. Best from 2026 through 2040. 1,600 cases made, 163 cases imported.

Jeb DUNNUCK

100

byJeb Dunnuckthe3/30/2023

Reminding me slightly of the 1998, the dense ruby/purple-hued 2020 Château Trotanoy offers a classic, concentrated, structured, regal style that this terroir seems to deliver with ease. Giving up a layered, primordial bouquet of smoked tobacco, black cherries, iron, graphite, and gravelly earth, it hits the palate with a massive array of fruit and tannins that somehow stays flawlessly balanced, offering ripe, silky, yet building tannins, flawless balance, and a gorgeous finish. It's going to need a decade of bottle age to hit the early stages of maturity, but this is pure Pomerol brilliance. Is there a better performing Château on the Right Bank today? Not in my opinion.

The Wine Cellar Insider

100

byJeff Levethe3/22/2023

As good as this was from barrel, it is even better in the bottle! The array of black and dark red fruits, with nuances of flowers, chocolate, licorice, wet earth and spice in the perfume lets you know you are in for something special. This wine is what hedonism is all about. Sensuous, silky, polished, fresh and opulent, texturally, this is off the charts. The wine tastes and feels like the fruits were drenched in velvet, infused with dark chocolate and then polished, making this effortless to drink. The seamless finish hits the 60 second mark. Clearly, this is a legend in the making. If you are a fan of Trotanoy and you have the extra income, run, do not walk and grab some, as not much was made and it is only going to become more expensive from here. Drink from 2025-2060.

Vinous

98

byAntonio Gallonithe2/24/2023

The 2020 Trotanoy is tremendous. Even better, it might not take forever to come around! Vertical in build, with tons of explosive energy, Trotanoy offers a beguiling mix of black cherry, plum, licorice, incense, dried herbs, menthol and graphite. There is a ton of energy and structure, along with the signature Trotanoy tannins, but all the elements are so well-balanced.

Vinous

98

byNeal Martinthe2/15/2023

The 2020 Trotanoy, one of the vintage's most promising wines from barrel, has retained that backward yet compelling bouquet with black fruit, mulberry and touches of potpourri. Underlying this is a dazzling sense of mineralité that probably has no equal on the Right Bank. The palate is surfeited with tension and poise. Stunning delineation, one of the few genuinely pixelated Pomerols in this vintage. A very nuanced pepperiness emerges towards its extremely persistent finish. What a stunning Trotanoy.

Wine Spectator

96

byJames Molesworththe11/30/2022

Delivers a beam of alluring and lush mulberry, raspberry and black currant puree flavors while maintaining form and focus, with an underpinning of warm paving stone and humus for spine as well as focusing tobacco and alder accents along the edges. Clearly marked by the vintage, but with density and definition that differentiate this from the pack. Best from 2026 through 2040. 

TASTED

99

byAndreas Larssonthe7/6/2021

Compared to Hosanna this in all ways deeper and darker with more tannic power, black cherry, Kirsch and layers of dark fruit. Despite the appeal and Burgundian flair of the Hosanna Trotanoy shows tremendous power and length, certainly a wine needing more time to open but there´s so much hidden in there waiting to come out! Remarkable finesse and length. Close to perfection looking forward tasting this in bottle in a few years.

Vinous

98-100

byNeal Martinthe6/25/2021

The 2020 Trotanoy blew me away when I tasted the sample over several hours in the UK. Was it a potential perfect wine? The mere presence of doubt meant that I did not feel mandated to award a perfect score, by a cat’s whisker. Re-examining the Trotanoy at the offices of J-P Moueix, I feel this gives me the mandate to up my potential score. It is simply an astonishing Pomerol that takes all your senses by their lapels and demands attention. There is a beguiling symmetry that no other 2020 possesses, a precision that astounds. Let’s see what this boy can do in bottle then.

Vinous

96-98

byAntonio Gallonithe6/1/2021

Trotanoy is simply magnificent in 2020. In most vintages, Trotanoy is quite imposing and hard to read in its youth. The 2020 captures all the energy that is such a signature here and adds immeasurable finesse. The result is one of the most memorable wines of the year. Blackberry jam, chocolate, spice, new leather, licorice and dried herbs build to a remarkable crescendo of aromas, flavors and textures. Trotanoy has all the potential to be one of the wines of the vintage when it is bottled. Memorable.

Jeb DUNNUCK

98-100

byJeb Dunnuckthe5/28/2021

A big bruiser of a Pomerol, the 2020 Château Trotanoy isn't for those looking for instant gratification and is going to require patience, yet it has perfection written all over it. Massive smoked black cherries, gravelly earth, tobacco, and spice-driven notes all emerge from this full-bodied, powerful Pomerol that has an incredible sense of minerality, building, mouthcoating tannins, notable freshness, and a great finish. Starting out closed, tight, and backward, it opens up with air and has incredible purity, one monster of a mid-palate, serious tannins, and a great finish. Hold on to your hats, this is a legendary Pomerol, and my money is on it being the wine of the vintage!

Vinous

97-99

byNeal Martinthe5/27/2021

The 2020 Trotanoy might be described as a beast of a wine. Unlike the previous vintage, which was refined and graceful, this Trotanoy could not give a flying four-letter word what you think. It says “take me as I am” and makes no compromises. For a 2020 it is atypically austere aromatically and I did not scribble a word for the first 60 minutes after opening my bottle. With a hell of a lot of patience, it eventually unveils incredible precision, fabulous mineralité and subtle touches of lavender and incense. The palate is medium-bodied with firm grip. It has the structure of the Forth Road Bridge, harking back to the more unyielding Trotanoy vintages of the past. But there is astonishing symmetry and an almost ineffable, cerebral finish. In a world of instant satisfaction, this wine will be overlooked by many, but in 30–40 years’ time, this Trotanoy will be a legend.

Decanter.com

98

byJane Ansonthe5/25/2021

Deep plum colour. Pared back and precise on the nose, showing damson, gunsmoke and rose petal. This is all about the crouching fruits and fine but utterly confident tannic structure - it makes you smile involuntarily. There is just so much happening underneath the layers of blackberry fruit - the rose petal from the nose becomes more evident, as does the depth and texture to the tannins. A brilliant Trotanoy, showcasing so much of its personality, and why this is a long-living Pomerol that has menace and bite, but also beauty. There is unquestioned austerity on the tannins at the end of play, but they are drumming their fingers, ready to spring forward. Harvest September 15 to 18, a yield around 42hl/ha. Potential 100 when in bottle.

The Wine Cellar Insider

98-100

byJeff Levethe5/21/2021

Inky garnet in color, the wine is pure hedonism at its best. The attention seeking nose, with its violets, spice, truffle, black and blue fruit, licorice and cocoa is off the hook. And it only gets better from there. Incredibly sensuous and silky, the fruit is drenched in velvet, infused with dark chocolate and is effortless to drink. With a seamless finish that exceeds 60 seconds, this is what great wine is all about. A serious contender for wine of the vintage, fans of Pomerol and Trotanoy should buy this as soon as its offered. It is that good. 98-100

Wine Advocate

98-100

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe5/20/2021

Opaque purple-black in color, the 2020 Trotanoy needs considerable coaxing and swirling before it erupts from the glass with powerful notes of prunes, chocolate-covered cherries, mulberries and hoisin, plus nuances of candied violets, star anise and clove oil, with a touch of smoked meats. The big, concentrated, full-bodied palate explodes with decadent black fruit preserves and exotic spices, supported by wonderfully velvety tannins and bags of freshness, finishing with epic length and, finally, lots of earth and mineral layers. A truly impressive titan of a Pomerol, this is going to need a good 6-8 years in bottle, then should go on wowing for 40 years or more.

Anthocyanes

95-97

byYohan Castaingthe5/11/2021

Avec une fraicheur délicate et pure, Trotanoy 2020 est un peu terrien, légèrement graphite et délicatement boisé. Plutôt timide, il n'en demeure pas moins complexe et frais. Tout en rondeur et en velouté, la bouche est caressante, un peu boisée et bien en place. Un vin qui est parti pour une longue garde et où les élevages seront décisifs. Grande bouteille en devenir.

Bernard Burtschy

97-98

byBernard Burtschythe5/10/2021

Falstaff

97-99

byPeter Moserthe5/10/2021

Dunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Ockerrandaufhellung. Frische reife Pflaumen, dunkle Kirschen, feine Kräuterwürze, etwas Vanille und Edelholz, ein Hauch von Nougat im Hintergrund. Saftig, wieder reife schwarze Fruchtnuancen, von Brombeere bis Kirschen, reife, feine Tannine, mineralisch-salzig unterlegt, zeigt sehr gute Länge, feine Süße im Abgang, großes Entwicklungspoten- zial, ein hocheleganter Wein, etwas Nougat und Röstaromen im Rückgeschmack, nach 2018 und 2019 die dritte Schönheit in Serie.

My Bettane + Desseauve

97-98

by Bettane & Desseauvethe5/7/2021

Jamessuckling.com

99-100

byJames Sucklingthe4/25/2021

A very concentrated Trot with density and depth, the tannins spreading across the palate. Full and very intense. It goes on for minutes. Great depth. Another soulful wine from the Moueix family.