2006 Tronquoy Lalande (St Estephe) Cru Bourgeois

A blend of 59% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Petit Verdot, the 2006 may be the finest wine I have ever tasted from this estate. It exhibits a dark ruby/purple color, sweet red and black currant notes intermixed with notions of damp earth, forest floor, and roasted herbs, medium body, and an elegant, sensual, sexy personality. Drink it over the next decade. A sleeper of the vintage. Tronquoy Lalande is now under the ownership of the telecommunications wizard, Martin Bouygues, who quickly hired retired Jean-Bernard Delmas ,formerly the winemaker at Haut-Brion, to make this wine as well as that of his flagship estate, Chateau Montrose.

A property recently acquired by Montrose. Very high proportion of Merlot for a left bank wine: 59%, and 12% Petit Verdot. Very good deep crimson. Thick and dense and quite spiky. Still a little rustic with lots of chewy tannins for the future. Just a bit gawky still although many people say Tronquoy has the best terroir of Saint-Estèphe. Pretty inky finish. (JR)

A blend of 59% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Petit Verdot, the 2006 may be the finest wine I have ever tasted from this estate. It exhibits a dark ruby/purple color, sweet red and black currant notes intermixed with notions of damp earth, forest floor, and roasted herbs, medium body, and an elegant, sensual, sexy personality. Drink it over the next decade. A sleeper of the vintage. Feb 2009, www.robertparker.com