Tasting Note

Classic Pomerol - exceptional Merlot fruit and then a wonderful long, savoury finish coming from the Cabernets. Porte Chic is located on the plateau of Pomerol where Château Cantereau once stood, which is now in ruin. It is also the site of an old horseracing track, which helps to explain the equestrian label. The modest 2 hectare vineyard was acquired in 2010 and is planted with 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Benoît eventually plans to build a small winery on the site. Until then, the wines are vinified in Les Artigues-de-Lussac and aged in new oak for 18 months.

Producer

Vignerons depuis 1620 ensures that the Trocard family are certainly one of, if not the oldest vine growers in the Gironde. Originally from Fronsac, they migrated to Saint-Émilion after the marriage of André Trocard to Thérèse Renard in 1918. With the wedding dowry came 20 hectares of vines in Les Artigues-de-Lussac and Saint-Émilion.

André worked the land himself, with the help of his wife and one ouvrier. After the Second World War, the family firm was handed onto Jean, the son of André and Thérèse. Jean’s own son, Jean-Louis (after whom the modern day business takes its name), took over in 1976 and, by 1982, the family had a total of 50 hectares under their ownership.

Today, the firm is run by Jean-Louis and Elizabeth’s eldest son, Benoît. He joined his parents in 2002, after finishing business studies in Reims and working harvests in the Yarra Valley in the early 2000s. He qualified as an oenologist in his own right in 2003. He now represents the 15th generation of the famille Trocard in the region. Jean-Louis would claim to a vigneron, rather than a négociant.

They make wine from their own vineyards and they sell it directly. There are now 14 properties, with 100 hectares of vines, covering 6 separate appellations, all of which are located on Bordeaux’s Right Bank. They also now employ 28 staff. Most of these properties are ‘virtual’ châteaux, since no bricks and mortar exist, with the wines vinified at a central cellar in Les Artigues-de-Lussac.

_{Country: France | Region: Pomerol, Bordeaux | Alcohol: 13.5% | Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc | Family Producer}