TRONQUOY

The 2023 Tronquoy is quite elegant in this vintage. Crushed flowers, mint, dried herbs, tobacco and cedar lend lovely aromatic complexity. There's more Petit Verdot in this year's blend, which comes through in the wine's aromatic presence, and also less Merlot, which is noticeable in the mouthfeel. It's a style I like a lot—more Saint-Estèphe and less of the rusticity that marked some years. This is a very pretty and promising Tronquoy, not to mention one of the most finessed vintages of this wine I can remember tasting. Drinking range: 2027 - 2038 Rating: 90-93 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2024)

This is a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot and 11% Petit Verdot, just a touch more Cabernet Sauvignon than usual, and the Petit Verdot was also of high quality, hence Merlot was pushed into a minority position. Picking start September 6th, commonplace in St Estèphe and Pauillac, and finished on the 26th. Beautiful aromatics on the nose, expressive, with concentrated and lightly dried berry fruits, wrapped in cedar, dark chocolate and crushed chalk. A rather cool and fresh entry, with the sinewy and taut character of the vintage, with a savoury restraint to the texture, with a finely extracted and powdery grip of tannins underneath, and the vibrant acid freshness of the vintage. This has delicious poise and a fine sense of energy and balance, and should provide great value drinking. The alcohol here is 13.2%. Rating: 92-94 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)

The 2023 Tronquoy-Lalande was picked September 6 to 26 and contains more Petit Verdot in the blend this year. It matured in one-third new oak plus some newly-introduced foudres and amphorae. Blackberry and bilberry fruit surface the nose, plus a fresh punnet of strawberries. This is quite delightful and full of character. The palate is underpinned by fine acidity. Fresh and quite marine-influenced, this has a silky texture on the finish that lingers in the mouth, representing another superb Tronquoy from a rejuvenated estate. Drinking range: 2030 - 2055 Rating: 93-95 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Apr 2024)