2025 Trottevieille
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Tasting notes
The 2025 Trotte Vieille was picked between September 4 and 19 at just over 30 hl/ha and matured entirely in new oak. The 51% Cabernet Franc drives the nose, so it errs more towards black, slightly peppery fruit, with touches of bay leaf and pencil box. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins, pleasing edginess, moderate depth, more linear, fresh and sapid in style, with commendable minéralité towards the finish. This is a very well-crafted Saint-Émilion that will only get better with age, as testified by numerous vintages tasted over the years.
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin, Vinous
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Deep purple-hued, the 2025 Château Trottevieille is based on 51% Cabernet Franc, 46% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon that's resting all in new barrels. It has an absolutely brilliant nose of cassis, graphite, wood smoke, and crushed stone, and it's full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, with beautiful mid-palate depth, ripe, polished tannins, flawless overall balance, and a great finish.
Intense aromas of flowers, citrus, espresso, black plums, black cherries, and assorted herbs are all over the place. The palate is rich, concentrated, lushly-textured, lifted, finishing with layers of silky, chocolate-covered black with red fruits, cinnamon, licorice, espresso, and a hint of mint. The wine blends 57% Cabernet Franc, and 42% Merlot. 14% ABV. The harvest took place September 4 - September 19. The wine is aging in 100% new French oak barrels. Yields were 30 hectoliters per hectare.
The 2025 Trotte Vieille soars out of the glass. Freshly cut flowers, mocha, dried herbs, menthol and espresso meld into a core of rich, deeply layered dark fruit. Trotte Vieille is a rare Saint-Émilion that features Cabernet Franc. All of that intensely floral/savory character (and the matching structure) is in evidence today. The 2025 builds beautifully in the glass, revealing myriad dimensions of intensity. Blue-toned fruit, gravel, cloves, lavender, licorice and espresso linger. The only question is how long the 2025 is going to need.
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.