France

Ch. Trotte Vieille

Chateau Trotte Vieille Premier Grand Cru Classe B Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

Bordeaux

Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

Deep garnet-purple colored. Needs quite a lot of swirling to coax out notes of black cherries, raspberry coulis, and boysenberries, leading to hints of cedar chest, rose oil, sassafras, and anise. The light to medium-bodied palate shimmers with energy delivering ripe, fine-grained tannins and bold freshness to support the mineral laced red berry flavors, finishing long and perfumed. Stunning!

by Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW

Concentrated, medium intensity ruby red colour. On the opening this is restrained, elegant, pared back, with well delivered juice that just slowly infuses the palate with lift and sinewed salinity; This is a well balanced and confident wine, great quality. 100% new oak, 3.45ph. Tasted twice. Axel Marchal and Thomas Duclos consultants. 

Inside Bordeaux

The 2023 Trotte Vieille is deep garnet-purple in color. The first impression is WOW! It prances out of the glass with showy notes of ripe black plums, mulberries, and blackberry pie followed by hints of candied violets, cedar chest, cinnamon stick, and clove oil. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers electric tension, with super-fine satiny-smooth tannins and intense black fruit and baking spice layers, finishing long and fragrant. Along with the 2022, this is the best Trotte Vieille I've tasted. The blend is 53% Cabernet Franc, 44% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, with an alcohol of 13.5%. “The new vat room was finished in 2021 for Trotte Vieille,” commented owner Frédéric Castéja. “This made a big difference to what we could achieve this year. The aim was to respect the fruit, keep the freshness, and make wines that are not too tannic and aggressive when young. This is the opposite of the wines from the 1990s.”

The 2022 Trotte Vieille is composed of 50% CS, 45% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc - less Cabernet Franc this year because the Cabernet Sauvignon was so good. Deep garnet-purple in color, it bursts from the glass with evocative notes of redcurrant jelly, warm cassis, baked plums, and candied violets, giving way to suggestions of licorice, tar, and black truffles. The full-bodied palate explodes with vibrant, expressive black berry and earthy flavors, framed by beautifully ripe, plush tannins and fantastic freshness, finishing very long and fragrant. This is stunning.

This austere vintage suits the style of Trottevieille, but risks being over-strict, and needs time to put flesh on the bones over ageing. Plenty of floral aromatics right off the bat, following by a mouthwatering combination of pumice-stone salinity, cassis and blackberry fruits, fennel and white pepper spice. Will take its time, but reward patience. 32hl/h yield, 100% new oak. First year in new winery, with double the number of vats (12 up to 25). Axel Marchal consultant.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2020 Trotte Vieille shoots from the glass with bold notions of baked black plums, fruitcake, and Indian spices, followed by suggestions of sandalwood, aniseed, unsmoked cigars, and fallen leaves. The rich, full-on, full-bodied palate is jam packed with black fruit preserves and exotic spice layers, supported by ripe, rounded tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and opulent. This is so decadent. Though tempting to drink right now, give it a good five years in the cellar for the nuances to fan out, then drink it over the next 30 years+.

Trotte Vieille often needs a few years in bottle to soften the austerity that comes from such high levels of Cabernet Franc on pretty much pure limestone soils. This 2019 is going to be worth the wait, and is just as exceptionally poised and deft as it was En Primeur. You get mouthwatering slate scrape, with a lick of saffron, white pepper and crushed stones but this is also showing clear gourmet notes of liqourice, plump raspberry and blackberry fruits, and cappuccino cream that reflect the ripeness of the vintage. Love it.

The 2018 Trotte Vieille is deep garnet purple in color. It is closed at first, opening out to reveal Morello cherries, wild blueberries, and fragrant earth, with hints of clove oil and cedar. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has just enough fruit with a chewy texture and a pleasant spiciness on the finish. 

The 2014 Trotte Vieille is medium to deep garnet-brick in color. Perfumed notes of dried roses and powdered cinnamon lead to a core of dried cranberries and kirsch with a waft of leather. The medium-bodied palate is lightly chewy with a lively backbone and mature red berry and floral flavors, finishing minerally.

The 2012 Trotte Vieille is medium to deep garnet colored. Notes of dried roses, kirsch, and blackberry preserves leap from the glass followed by hints of smoked meats and licorice. The medium-bodied palate delivers ripe, rounded tannins, with a lively backbone to lift the perfumed fruit to a long finish.

Delivering glass-staining colour and depth, love the smoked undergrowth, peony and rain-steamed earth on the nose, this is great quality, very different in character to the 2009, more focused and closed, less magic right now but with everything in place to take off over the next decade. Campfire smoke curls out of the glass after 15 minutes of opening. 100% new oak for ageing, Casteja family owners.

Delicious, juicy, restrained, this has layers of suspended fruit over fresh acidity that was rare to find in St Emilion in these years. One of the wines of the tasting, finely boned but still muscular tannins, cold ash, dark berry fruits, bitter almond, chocolate block, violets and peony floral character, a ton of crayon and saline kick. So much to enjoy here - and a real testament to how well the old vine Cabernet Franc on this site can develop over time. 100% new oak.

Saline smack and a grippy slate texture from the first moments, this majors on extreme limestone signature, and took its time to soften. Today you'll find a juicy, powerful, beautifully balanced wine with silky tannins, black cherry and blackberry fruit, waves of orange peel, coffee and soft leather, hitting it out of the park. Great vintage character, will age for decades from now, love it. 100% new oak.

One of the most surprising 2003s that you can find at this point, in that it is still fragrant and fresh, sculpted and juicy, and absolutely at a beautiful moment to drink. Asteries limestone with very shallow soil cover, right on the St Emilion plateau, has performed its magic trick with what was a hot, dry summer and early harvest. Espresso, blueberry, raspberry puree, chocolate flavours abound, with a saline kiss on the finish. The tannins are mellow, sun-sweetened and relaxed at 19 years old, and still keeping things together.

2024	No priceNot available	Outstanding
2023	No priceNot available	Extraordinary
2022	No priceNot available	Extraordinary
2021	No priceNot available	Outstanding
2020	No priceNot available	Extraordinary

Category	Red wine
Vinmonopolet no.
Producer	Ch. Trotte Vieille
Vintages	2024
Country	France, Bordeaux, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Bottle	75 cl

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