The official line at Château Tronquoy-Lalande is that the estate escaped the frost entirely, nevertheless it is clear that the 2017 Château Tronquoy-Lalande is not cut from the same cloth as the best vintages here, which include 2018, 2016, 2014 (which was stronger up here in St Estèphe than it was elsewhere on the Médoc) and 2010. Freshly decanted, it has a modest depth of colour, somewhat concentrated at its core, with a cherry crimson rim. Aromatically it has moved on a little from my last tasting a couple of years ago, now displaying a warm sense of degradation to the curranty fruits, spiced with notes of dried cranberry, rosehips and chalk dust. There follows a quite taut style on the palate, cool and acid-fresh, medium-bodied but confidently framed by the acidity and a quickly fading frame of soft, lightly chalky tannins which feels as though they are close to resolution. With its pretty cranberry and rose fruits this is drinking quite well now, although I suspect it will improve in bottle for another few years, and will remain fresh for a few more after that. The declared alcohol is 13.5%. 90/100 (10/1/22)
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