Château Tronquoy-Lalande Saint-Estèphe 2018

Bettane & Desseauve

About the domain :

After many years at Château Mouton-Rothschild, Hervé Berland is now in charge of the two properties acquired by Martin and Olivier Bouygues. Less well known than Montrose, Château Tronquoy Lalande, a discreet 18-hectare estate in Saint-Estèphe, is one of the oldest vineyards in the appellation. The wines produced here are splendid.

Decanter

About the wine:

It's very concentrated and juicy at the same time, delicious with its licorice and black fruit notes. There are traces of heat due to the higher-than-usual alcohol levels in Cabernet Sauvignon (Montrose wine director Vincent Decup called it "the ultra-concentration of Cabernets"), but again, it's balanced by gently seductive tannins. 2024-2036

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the domain :

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the domain :

Martin and Olivier Bouygues acquired Tronquoy-Lalande in 2006, a few months after buying Château Montrose, located a stone's throw away. This very old Saint-Estèphe cru retains its autonomy and style. The management of the château, like that of Montrose, was taken over in 2012 by Hervé Berland. Note the recent production of a beautifully crafted, round and seductive white. They represent excellent bargains.

Wine Spectator

James Suckling

About the wine:

Wonderful aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry and flowers with some plums. Full-bodied, with firm, silky, long, polished tannins. A beautiful linear finish that lasts a long time. Give it 3 or 4 years to open up. Try it after 2024.

Yves Beck

About the wine:

After a wet start to the season, budburst began on April 10, 2019. This was followed by flowering, which began on June 4. Tronquoy-Lalande is in non-certified organic conversion. Purplish purple. Elegant, complex bouquet, gently revealing itself. Pleasant notes of licorice and dark berries. On the palate, the wine is creamy, well-balanced, with compact tannins that reveal themselves on the finish. A silky, balanced wine with smooth tannins. A great success for Tronquoy. 2023-2038

Jean-Marc Quarin

About the wine:

Dark, intense and beautiful color. Intense, fine nose of ripe, creamy fruit. Silky pulp on the palate, with taste, body and fine tannins. The wine glides across the palate, finishing with a relief of fine spice.

Vert de Vin

About the wine:

The nose is elegant, fine, pedigreed and offers lovely fruit as well as racy minerality, freshness and a certain energy/intensity. There are notes of fleshy/pulpy blackberry, strawberry and more lightly violet, combined with hints of pulpy cherry and violet, racy minerality, a discreet hint of licorice and toasted hazelnut. The palate is fruity, well-balanced, currently finely tight, and offers straightforwardness, tension, fleshiness, a lovely grain as well as greediness, a little unctuosity, depth, silkiness, energy and a fine acidic frame. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of fleshy/pulpy blackberry, cherry and, more lightly, violet, combined with hints of raspberry, blueberry, pulpy strawberry and blueberry, as well as hints of chocolate, caramelization, discreet hints of toast/caramelization and a subtle hint of star anise (in the background). Good length. A little chewiness on the finish/persistence.

The Wine Cellar Insider - Jeff Leve

About the wine:

Beautifully colored, with notes of cigar box, dark chocolate, black cherry and smoky plum at the core, the wine is rich, ripe, round and fruity with a wonderful earthy character already shining through. This is a superb vintage of Tronquoy Lalande composed of 51% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc.