Château Tronquoy Lalande, St Estèphe, 2020
Crushed and heady blueberry, blackberry and blackcurrant fruit. Black cherry, clove, all spice and mint permeate a flinty, graphite laden, minerality. Full and voluptuous but showing no vestiges from the heat of the vintage. On the contrary, at just 13.5% abv, the profile is cool, restrained and graceful, yet still expansive and luxurious. There are plush, ripe tannins with just a little powdery grip on the long spicy finish.
critic reviews
The 2020 Tronquoy-Lalande puts in the surprise performance of the tasting with a quite stellar showing. It has superb mineralité on the nose, very well defined and full of vigor—perhaps the most sophisticated within the flight of Saint-Estèphe wines. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannins. It's a "solid" and structured wine, but it also conveys delineation and tension toward the hoisin-tinged finish. Very persistent on the finish, this is a class act. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
A blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, and 6% Petit Verdot, the 2020 Tronquoy-Lalande is deep garnet-purple in color. It bursts from the glass with notes of crushed black cherries, fresh blackcurrants, and black raspberries, plus touches of lilacs, aniseed, and cumin seed with a hint of fertile loam. The medium-bodied palate is elegantly crafted with just enough fruit and a light chewiness to the tannins, finishing savory.
Seriously impressive, close to 2016 in feel, richly texured, combining the power of St Estèphe with reserve and pared-back elegance, a ton of black fruits. It remains tight on the finish for now, but the tannins are confident rather than restrictive, suggesting long ageing potential. Higher Cabernet Sauvignon than usual, partly because of the mildew that impacted the Merlot, and partly because the Cabernet Sauvignon reacted so well to the vintage conditions. 3.74ph, harvest September 11 to 28.