1992 Trotanoy

I have often acknowledged the greatness of Trotanoy in the forties, fifties, sixties, and early seventies. Yet I also voiced my concerns between 1976 and the late eighties when Trotanoy produced wines far below what its fans had come to expect (save for the superb 1982). Much of the vineyard had been replanted and the style undoubtedly lightened. All of that appears to be changing, as Trotanoy is clearly on the rebound with a very strong effort in 1992 and a superb performance in 1993 (more on that vintage in the issue #97). As I indicated in my report on the 1992 cask tastings, Trotanoy turned in a top performance. That has been confirmed by the bottled wine. It offers a dense, saturated dark ruby color, an excellent sweet, black-cherry, mocha, mineral, and vanillin-scented nose, medium-bodied, concentrated flavors, a wonderful succulence and suppleness to its fruit, and a long, heady, tannic, rich finish. This is an expansively flavored, moderately tannic Trotanoy that will benefit from another 2-3 years of cellaring, and keep for 12-15 years. How reassuring it is to see this estate, which made so many of the greatest wines in the forties, fifties, sixties, and early seventies, return to form.