This wine is a sensational QPR. Nay, this wine is wonderful in its own right, irrespective of price. Easily the finest wine that I have had from this Chateau. And at $37 per, a steal.
I think this wine personifies that confluence of what we are seeing in Bordeaux today, estates that have remained classic to their core, that are also blossoming in the wake of perhaps better growing seasons, and of course, finer agronomy and wine-making practices. WK has been writing about this ad nauseum, and in my humble opinion, is correct. This is not modern winemaking like what we saw over the last 20 years with modernist consultants. This is just classic being done correctly, with better stuff to make.
On pop and pour, shows a very aromatic profile, big ripe bell pepper and dark fruits. I immediately thought old Togni. Lots of earth and spice on this nose. With it being Northern Medoc, and throwing that big bell pepper, I am immediately thinking high concentration of Cab Sav but the palate is quite rounded and layered. Not soft by any stretch, but showing grace and velvet. Turns out that there is 58% Merlot in the cepage. Nice range of plummy and spicy dark fruits but also showing some darker red fruit and acid. Weight is medium-plus, tannins are present but sweet and not necessarily chewy. Long, dusty finish.
This is a case-worthy purchase. And I do not think you have to wait 15 years to start enjoying it, though it will age pretty effortlessly.
Agree this is a nice bottle of wine. I tasted recently as part of a bunch of sub $50 Bordeaux from ‘16 I tried to see what to load up on.
PNP. Nicely aromatic, matching the palate of rich dark fruit, plum, black cherry, tobacco and graphite. Slightly dusty tannins, good acidity balanced out the plush fruit. Delicious now and over the next 10+ years.
I think I enjoy QPR Bdx posts as much as reports about the big hitters. Admittedly I sometimes sort my home bottles by price for those more casual nights when I don’t want to invest the energy on a more expensive bottle.
I think I bought 36 bottles of this. It’s a superb deep gravel terroir.
There are plenty of very good QPR, solid, honest wines coming out of the non-classified estates of the Médoc, but rarer are those that have the underlying terroir to produce a wine of real refinement and complexity. This is clearly one of them.
This was my note on the 2014, consumed in January, 2021:
Light sediment. Clear, consistent ruby color. Very fragrant right after opening, but tongue-coatingly tannic and highly acidic. Two hours in the decanter helped with the tannins. Forward taste of red currant and cedar, then plum and allspice, with bitter chocolate and a strong mint component in the aftertaste. In spite of the acidity, which persisted, it has a velvety texture, and a richness that becomes more marked the longer it is open. I bought this for $36 this morning – not cheap, exactly, but a huge bargain for the quality. It’s really good now and it will be much better in 3-5 years.
By the way, starting with 2022, the estate is now known as Chateau Tronquoy with a shiny, new, blue label script to match. FWIW, numerous wineries from the Left Bank are making quite nice wines that sell for a song. You can find them either using my search vintage and vintage or read any of the appellation articles.
I like the label, the wax is meh, but then again, probably easier and cheaper nowadays than a capsule. I know what you are thinking, though…this fancy shiny stuff means it’s going to go ‘modern’ and be all glossy and sweet?
I have been a big fan of their wine for years. 