CHÂTEAU TRONQUOY LALANDE

2012 Saint Estèphe

EN PRIMEUR

Made by the Montrose team. 57% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Petit Verdot. 30-40% new wood. Proper claret nose. Silky supple and smooth. Fine black fruit nicely restrained crunch but not austere in anyway. On the palate some lovely high-toned spice, quite firm cherry-black and even blueberry fruit. Stays fresh and harmonious. Rating: 90 L&S (Apr 2013)

* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.

The 2012 Tronquoy-Lalande has a slightly meatier/dried blood tinged bouquet with scents of melted tar coming through with time and later a distant touch of mint. The palate is medium-bodied with rather rustic tannins. A bold Saint-Estèphe that lacks a bit of grace, ferrous and overtly spicy on the finish. It has the substance to last, but not necessarily improve. Tasted blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting. Drinking range: 2023 - 2033 Rating: 90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Sept 2022)

A dark, brooding wine, the 2012 Tronquoy Lalande offers up an enticing bouquet of sweet red plum, tobacco, game, earthiness, smoke and leather. Today, the 2012 is a bit wild and rough around the edges, but it nevertheless possesses plenty of density and enough richness to drink well for the better part of the next decade, perhaps longer. Iron, savory herbs and smoke add complexity on the exuberant finish. The 2012 is going to need at least a few years to settle down, as the tannins are quite fierce today. Still, the Tronquoy Lalande is clearly an overachiever in its peer group. Drinking range: 2018 - 2032 Rating: 91 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jan 2016)

In 2012, the Petit Verdot did not receive complete ripeness and so it was almost entirely demoted into the Second wine. The nose is quite elegant and refined with blackberry, cassis and just a touch of pencil shaving – quite Pauillac in style. The palate is nicely balanced on the entry, fresh in the mouth with that graphite note evident at Cos d’Estournel. It is a masculine wine with good structure on the finish, if not quite the length of previous vintages. Fine, but somehow conservative and it drops away quite rapidly. Rating: 88-90 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2013)

The 2012 Tronquoy-Lalande is composed of 57% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and tiny dosages of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. A sleeper of the vintage, this dense ruby/purple-hued, medium to full-bodied effort exhibits plenty of creme de cassis, spring flower, forest floor and crushed rock-like characteristics. Loaded with fruit, with a long, velvety finish, it should drink nicely for 10-15 years. 2013 - 2028 Rating: 88-90 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate, www.RobertParker.com (Apr 2013)

This Château Montrose-owned property has made a rich and pretty dense wine for the vintage with bags of colour and serious tannins. But beneath the carapace, this is a wine with some finesse, showing chalky minerality and enough cassis and black cherry fruit for balance. Drink: 2020-28. Rating: 92 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2013)

Deep crimson. Real lift on the nose. Thick and sweet and earthbound but admirably balanced. Dances. Fresh and succulent. 2017 - 2027. Rating: 16.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2013)

Superb colour, lots of black fruits and fleshy grip, a very good but quite tannic wine from the Montrose stable. Drink: 2016 - 2026. Rating: 16.5 Steven Spurrier (Apr 2013)

Rating: 17 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Apr 2013)

Shows a decidedly dusty feel from the start, with a pebbly undertow and notes of damson plum and red currant, displaying a floral hint Rating: 87-90 James Molesworth, The Wine Spectator (Apr 2013)

Since being established in 1791, Chateau Tronquoy (they dropped the Lalande in 2018) was one of the very first vineyards of the Saint Estephe appellation. From the outset its founder was a proudly independent spirit, and François Tronquoy refused to take part in the 1855 classification.
Today this exceptional vineyard runs to 30 hectares in a single block, running down to the banks of the Gironde estuary. It is a terroir that proudly abuts some of the greatest properties in the area, sited on the celebrated Terrace 3 - which also has some of Cos d'Estournel's vines, some of Lafite's vineyards and of course 'big brother' Chateau Montrose's vines. They have developed a very thoughtful approach to their work in the vineyard, and the estate was certified organic from the 2024 vintage onwards. This is just part of their strong commitment to biodiversity which has seen the development of 800 meters of hedgerows, 100 new birdhouses, 100 bat shelters and 6 beehives.
The estate is owned and the wine is produced by the same team that is responsible for Chateau Montrose.

Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.

Ordering

Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.

Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.

Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.

Confirmation

All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.

Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.

Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.

Delivery

  • Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
  • Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
  • Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
  • Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.

Practical notes - how it works

We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.

When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.

Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.

One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.

Additional charges are as follows:-

  • +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
  • +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
  • +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
  • +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.