Chateaux Montrose and Tronquoy with Charlotte Bouygues and Arnaud Frederic
Total Wine, McLean VA
Tasted Saturday, October 12, 2024 by Pellinge with 181 views
Introduction
Presentation and tasting of two vintages each of Tronquoy (formerly Tronquoy Lalande), La Dame de Montrose, and Montrose , plus the Tronquoy blanc. Lovely wines as expected, but did not expect how pleasurable even the grand vin was at such a young age. The days of tough-as-nails, wait for decades before opening St. Estephe are over. Whether current vintages will survive and evolve for decades as well, remains an open question. Also happy to see the Tronquoy wines are excellent while also very affordable.
2019 Château Tronquoy-Lalande Blanc 91 Points
France, Bordeaux
At a tasting of Montrose and Tronquoy wines with Charlotte Bouygues and Arnaud Frederic of Chateau Montrose. The white vines were first planted in 2009 and there are now 1.8 ha; about 8000 bottles produced per vintage. Burgundy is the inspiration, and this is fermented in burgundy pieces rather than bordelaise barriques. Lees stirring via a mechanical barrel turning device rather than traditional batonnage. 70% semillon, 30% sauvignon gris.
As intended, this is indeed similar to white burgundy: creamy, leesy texture but with very good balancing acidity. High quality oak aromas. Very fine, and ambitiously priced at $70; it's much pricier than their red grand vin.
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2018 Château Tronquoy-Lalande 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe
At a tasting of Montrose and Tronquoy wines with Charlotte Bouygues and Arnaud Frederic of Chateau Montrose. This was poured side by side with the 2019, which sports the shortened name Tronquoy, a new label, and tres chic blue wax capsule.
The 18 vs 19 comparison was really useful. I agree with prior notes, this was fleshy, softer, and leaned more toward (baked) cherry compote as opposed to fresh fruit. Color was notably darker too. I didn't hate it, but the 19 was more to my liking. Note that the 19 seemed very classical to me, so I don't think the 18 represents a stylistic shift at this estate. This is just what the vintage gave them.
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2019 Château Tronquoy 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe
At a tasting of Montrose and Tronquoy wines with Charlotte Bouygues and Arnaud Frederic of Chateau Montrose. Tasted side by side with the 2018, which was more ripe and fleshy.
This is lighter in color and fresher on the palate. It's also ripe, but not veering into baked fruit territory. Lots of kirsch and cassis, a light pyrazine note, and significantly more structure than the 18. The tannins bode well for aging, but it's quite drinkable today.
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2015 Château Montrose La Dame de Montrose 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe
At a tasting of Montrose and Tronquoy wines with Charlotte Bouygues and Arnaud Frederic of Chateau Montrose. Poured side by side with the 2020 Dame de Montrose, making for an interesting comparison.
This is typically led by merlot, but in 2015 it's 55% cabernet sauvignon. Color and nose showed a little bit of age. Compared to the excellent 2020, this was simpler. Ripe blackberry and cherry. Structure-wise, this is ready to go.
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2020 Château Montrose La Dame de Montrose 92 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe
At a tasting of Montrose and Tronquoy wines with Charlotte Bouygues and Arnaud Frederic of Chateau Montrose. This was poured side by side with the 2015 Dame de Montrose, making for an interesting comparison.
The 2020 was fresher, more acidic, had lots of cherry fruit and quite a silky texture. It tastes really good now, and although I didn't get a sense for whether it has structure for the long haul, based on their track record I would assume it does. Another thing I didn't notice, really on any of the wines today (apart from the Tronquoy Blanc) was any strong oak impact. Very deftly handled.
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2017 Château Montrose 93 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe
At a tasting of Montrose and Tronquoy wines with Charlotte Bouygues and Arnaud Frederic of Chateau Montrose. This was poured side by side with the 2020 Montrose; the vintages showed quite differently, but there were common threads between them.
We didn't know ahead of time what vintages would be poured, but this was Total Wine, so I had a hunch they'd be slinging the 2017, which isn't exactly flying off the shelves (despite LPB's prominently displayed 98). Sigh, they did not disappoint me. At least it wasn't the 2013.
Fully 76% CS and only 20% merlot because the harvest of the latter was affected by rains. This is much paler in color than the 2020. It's a lovely claret with good acidity and real elegance. Also remarkably open for business at age 7. Very good, but not $185 good. I paid $45 and $60 for the 2002 and 2004 respectively, and even the 2012 was $75. Sigh.
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2020 Château Montrose 96 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Estèphe
At a tasting of Montrose and Tronquoy wines with Charlotte Bouygues and Arnaud Frederic of Chateau Montrose. Poured side by side with the 2017 Montrose, making for an interesting comparison.
They referred to 2020 as a classic vintage, and this was indeed a very classic Medoc. Cassis, graphite, ripe but fresh blackberry and cherry fruit. The well handled oak did not stand out. Tannins were present, but very fine.
Or maybe I should say a postmodern classic Medoc, because it was very approachable and delicious today. So how will it age? They said (as everyone in Bordeaux seems to be saying) that the new precision in the vineyard and winemaking (they have circa 80 vats of various sizes) are intended to widen the drinkability window to include both its youth - as today's customers demand - and its old age. I trust them, but we won't have any actual data for many years.
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