1947 Château Trotanoy

BY NEAL MARTIN | JUNE 02, 2020

There is something magical about bottles of postwar Pomerol. I have been fortunate to taste a fair number, given their rarity, and always with a sense of understanding that you might never encounter it again. That is the case with the 1947 Trotanoy. The Saviniens family had owned the property until the end of the Second World War, whereupon it fell into the hands of the Pécresse family, who then sold it to Jean-Pierre Moueix in 1953. As you can see the label, like many bottles of the time, indicates that it was a “1er Cru Pomerol” when no such official classification existed - a marketing technique that helped them shift a few cases. The label also indicates that it was sold through a négociant company known as “A. Barsac” and bares the name “Daniel Sanders”. This is the same family that bought Château Haut-Bailly in 1955, where Sanders’ granddaughter Véronique is currently the estate manager. Back then they distributed a number of Bordeaux châteaux. So, how did it taste? 

The 1947 Trotanoy is bricked on the rim but quite deep at its slightly turbid core. Yet it is fresh on the nose, though like many wines of this vintage, especially on the Right Bank, it sports a fair amount of volatile acidity. Yet remarkably, that does not detract from its purity and precision. Hints of peppermint, gingerbread and brown sugar emerge with aeration. The palate is beautifully balanced, worn down by the passing decades to leave vestiges of sweetness at its core, traces of maraschino cherry and quince. There is also just a touch of viscosity on the finish. It must have been a formidable Pomerol in its prime. Now it is a glimmering fading star. 95/Drink 2020-2020.