2020 Trottevieille
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Tasting Notes
Trotte Vieille remains a traditional-styled Saint-Emilion with impressive aromatic complexity, dominated by a distinctly savoury, saddle leather aroma. With a bit of air, the leather tones integrate nicely with the toasted oak spice and ripe, black fruit aromas. The tannins are ripe and resolved. The palate is a complex concoction from classic ripe cassis, blueberry and blackcurrant to a more floral tealeaf character, and earthy, forest floor notes. There’s a lot going on.
Critic Scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Excellent grip and tension through the palate, a well-judged and well-balanced Trottevieille, doing exactly as well as expected in a vintage that favours clay and limestone soils that keep freshness and focus. Elegant and sleek, plenty of tight blackberry fruit and a mouthwatering finish. Expands through the mid palate and then closes in on the finish, a confident wine where you feel the terroir is pulling the strings not the winemaker. Tasted twice, loved both times.
The 2020 Trotte Vieille is a blend of 50% Cabernet Franc, 49% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon aging for an anticipated 16 months in French oak barrels, 80% new. The alcohol is 15%. Opaque purple-black in color, it bursts from the glass with vivacious notes of wild blueberries, ripe, juicy black plums and black raspberries, plus hints of lilacs, star anise and tar with a touch of wild thyme. The rich, full-bodied palate coats the mouth with black fruits and exotic spice sparks, framed by grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing on a fragrant earth note.
Fantastic texture and structure to this wine with firm, silky tannins that go on and on. Love the crushed blackberries, blueberries and salt. Floral and mineral character, too. Full and tight with great length. Chewy at the very end, indicating real structure. All about structure and length. 50% cabernet sauvignon, 49% merlot, and 1% cabernet sauvignon.
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About the producer
Owned by the Castéja family (of Ch. Batailley), this estate is home to some of the region’s oldest Cabernet Franc vines – with some pre-phylloxera plantings that are over 150 years old.