2023 Trottevieille
Buying options
Tasting notes
Coming from a seriously good terroir on the upper plateau of Saint-Emilion, the 2023 Château Trotte Vieille is always a more Cabernet Franc-dominated blend and one that needs air to show at its best. Its deep purple hue is followed by a ripe, powerful nose of crème de cassis and assorted darker, almost blue fruits intermixed with roasted herbs, tobacco, dark chocolate, and a kiss of violets. Concentrated and medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has ripe, sweet, yet building tannins and a great finish. It has enough fruit to offer pleasure today yet is built for the long haul as well. Hide bottles for 4-5 years if possible and enjoy over the following two decades. Drink 2029-2053.
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent
More reviews and scores
The 2023 Trotte Vieille has really grown with élevage. Dark fruit, grilled herbs, menthol, licorice and chocolate stain the palate. Time in the glass brings out the wine's textural resonance and explosive energy. The long, sustained finish is a thing of beauty. Trotte Vieille, with its high percentage of Cabernet Franc, is one of the most distinctive wines in Bordeaux.
The 2023 Trotte Vieille, the second wine made in the new vat room, impressed out of barrel. Now in bottle, this has impressive purity on the nose with perfumed blackberry, cassis and violet petal aromas. Very fine delineation and purity, this gains intensity with aeration. The palate is ripe and grippy on the entry, plenty of substance matched by a keen line of acidity. Precise on the finish, this is an excellent Saint-Émilion that fulfills the promise that it showed from barrel.
About the producer
Owned by the Castéja family (of Ch. Batailley), this estate is home to some of the region’s oldest Cabernet Franc vines – with some pre-phylloxera plantings that are over 150 years old.