Chateau Tronquoy Lalande St. Estephe Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau Tronquoy Lalande, St. Estephe with wine tasting notes, and wine with food pairing tips. Learn the best vintages, a history of the property, and information on vineyards and winemaking. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Learn about all Bordeaux Wine Producers

Chateau Tronquoy Lalande History, Overview

Chateau Tronquoy Lalande takes its name fittingly from the family that owned the chateau in its formative years, the Tronquoy family. After they sold the estate in 1859, it passed through several owners before becoming part of the well-known Casteja family holdings, who purchased the vineyard in 1968.

In 2006, Chateau Tronquoy Lalande was purchased by Martin Bouygues and Olivier Bouygues from the Casteja family. The Bouygues brothers earned their fortune in the telecommunications industry.

For Martin Bouygues and Olivier Bouygues, it was the perfect addition to their portfolio, as they already owned the famed Second Growth, Chateau Montrose, which is also located in the Saint Estephe appellation. Both transactions for the Left Bank estates took place in 2006.

Chateau Tronquoy Lalande, The Modern Age

Chateau Tronquoy Lalande enjoyed a complete, 10 million Euro renovation after it was purchased. This is a fortune when you consider the estate is a Cru Bourgeois and that the wines do not sell for that much money.

That represented a serious commitment to quality! A large portion of those funds was allocated to making Chateau Tronquoy Lalande a responsible, fully, environmental, green winery. They obtain much of their power from geothermal energy. To achieve this for their Left Bank estate, they placed 3,000 photovoltaic panels on their roofs. The construction took 3 years to complete.

The new owners purchased additional vineyard land, increasing the size of the estate. The yields were reduced and the selection became much, more stringent. All of these changes have clearly helped improve the wine.

The wines of Chateau Tronquoy Lalande are produced by the same team that is responsible for the Bordeaux wine being made by the owners, the Bouygues brothers at their other Medoc estate, Chateau Montrose.

Shortly after Chateau Tronquoy Lalande was purchased by the Bouygues brothers, they brought in one of the more popular and revered figures in Bordeaux out of retirement to manage both, Chateau Montrose and Chateau Tronquoy Lalande.

Jean Bernard Delmas. Delmas was director of Chateau Haut Brion for decades until he retired and was replaced by his son. The elder Jean Bernard Delmas was in charge of both Chateau Tronquoy Lalande and Chateau Montrose. He was replaced by Herve Berland, who is also firmly in charge of Chateau Montrose.

In 2022, the estate shortened and changed its name to Chateau Tronquoy. The label was art was also modernized.

Chateau Tronquoy Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The 30 hectare Saint Estephe vineyard of Chateau Tronquoy is planted to 52% Merlot, 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot and 3% Petit Verdot. This represents a large shift in the vineyard since the new owners took control. Now, you find much more Merlot and less Cabernet Sauvignon.

With a total of 18 planted hectares of vines, the vineyard is planted to a density of 9,000 vines per hectare. The vines are on average, close to 25 years of age. The terroir is mostly gravel with some clay in the soil. The vineyard is located inland from Chateau Montrose. The vineyard was certified as being 100% organic in 2024.

To produce the wine of Chateau Tronquoy, vinification takes place in 22 geothermal powered, stainless steel tanks. The tanks allow for a parcel by parcel vinification. The tanks were made with a slight pitch or tilt at the bottom of the vat. The purpose is to allow the winemaker to capture more of the press wine.

The additional press wine that is recovered utilizing this method is of better quality. The reason behind it is that it does not require mechanical actions to be produced.

Gentle actions do produce softer, more elegant wine, which of course lends more softness to Tronquoy Lalande. All of these changes have clearly improved the quality here, giving the wine more finesse, softer, more gentle textures, and much better purity of fruit.

On average, the wine is aged in 25% new, French oak barrels for an average of 12 months before bottling. There is a second wine, Tronquoy de Sainte Anne. Chateau Tronquoy Lalande property produces 7,500 cases of St. Estephe wine per year.

The Best Vintages of Chateau Tronquoy Lalande are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2005 and 2003. Chateau Tronquoy Lalande is not a wine that requires long-term aging. Instead, it offers delicious, character-filled drinking during its first 2 decades of life for a consumer-friendly price.

The White Wine of Chateau Tronquoy

Chateau Tronquoy also produces a small amount of white Bordeaux wine which is sold as an AOC Bordeaux Blanc. The reason is that the appellation laws for St. Estephe do not allow for the planting of white wine, grape varieties. The vines for the white Bordeaux wine of Tronquoy were planted in 2009 by Jean Bernard Delmas.

Less than .5 hectares are reserved for white wine grape varieties. The vines are planted to 70% Semillon and 30% Sauvignon Gris. To produce the white wine of Tronquoy Lalande, vinification takes place in barrels with regular battonage.

There is no malolactic fermentation. The barrels are one year old, French oak, and come from La Mission Haut Brion. The production is limited to approximately 250 cases of wine per year.

When to Drink Chateau Tronquoy, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Tronquoy can be enjoyed on the young side. The wine is usually better at 3-6 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage. In the best vintages, the wine should be consumed within 12-18 years after the vintage.

Tronquoy is usually best enjoyed in the first 10-15-20 years after the vintage. Young vintages can be decanted for 1-2 hours. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.

One other tip for you. Since 2008, Tronquoy has really upped their game, making better wine each year. For value wine hunters that love Cabernet Sauvignon dominated, Left Bank wines, this is a wine to watch!

Serving Tronquoy with the Best Wine, Food, Pairing Tips

Chateau Tronquoy is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift.

Tronquoy is best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, stewed, and grilled dishes. With its spicy character, Tronquoy also pairs well with a wide variety of Asian dishes.

For the white wine of Tronquoy, it is best served with all types of seafood, both fish and shellfish, which can be grilled, roasted, broiled, and even served raw, as the wine makes a perfect match with sushi, sashimi, and even cheese courses.

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