Château Trotanoy

A historic Pomerol estate, Château Trotanoy is a small property made up of 7-hectares owned by the Jean-Pierre Moueix family. Located on one of the most beautiful parts of the Pomerol Plateau, the soil of Château Trotanoy is a very dense mixture of clay and gravel. This soil combination tends to solidify as it dries out after rain to an almost concrete-like hardness, hence the name trotanoy, or in other words, too wearisome to cultivate. Purchased by Jean-Pierre Moueix in 1953, Château Trotanoy is one of Pomerol’s leading estates, in part due to its complex terroir. The soil at the highest point of exposure contains a good proportion of gravel, becoming progressively more clayey as the elevation declines. Under this clay is a subsoil of red gravel and an impermeable layer of hard, iron-rich soil known as crasse de fer. This fascinating soil diversity brings power, depth and complexity to the wine. One of the few vineyards not to freeze in the famous year of 1956, the old vines have remained planted to Merlot (90%) and Cabernet Franc (10%). The wines are dense and seriously well-structured; seven or eight years of aging will see the growth of opulent dark fruit combined seamlessly with oriental spice notes.