FLOAT 100 · Wine · No. 63
Chateau Trotanoy 2016
Its name may come from an old phrase for 'too much bother,' but from about 7 hectares of iron-streaked clay a short walk from Petrus, the Moueix family made a 2016 that critics scored as high as 100.
- Maker
- Chateau Trotanoy
- By price in wine
- 80 of 100
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Create a free account- Producer
- Chateau Trotanoy, Pomerol, Bordeaux
- Owner
- Ets. Jean-Pierre Moueix, owner since 1953
- Vineyard
- About 7.2 hectares (sources give 7 to 7.6)
- Soil
- Gravel and deep black clay with iron deposits in the subsoil
- 2016 blend
- 95% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc
- Typical production
- About 25,000 bottles (around 2,250 cases) a year
- Aging
- 18 to 20 months in French oak, 40 to 50% new
- Second wine
- L'Esperance de Trotanoy, first made in 2009
- Top 2016 scores
- Jane Anson 100; Wine Advocate, Jeb Dunnuck and Lisa Perrotti-Brown 99
Too much bother
Trotanoy is a small estate on the west side of the Pomerol plateau, near Petrus and Lafleur, on the right bank of Bordeaux. Its vines were first planted in 1761. The name is usually traced to the old French 'trop ennuie,' loosely 'too much to bother with' or 'too hard to work,' a nod to a vineyard that is hard to work. Accounts differ on when the name took its modern form: one says the Giraud family's wine was already sold as 'Pomerol Giraud Cru de Trotanoy' at the start of the 19th century, another that Jean-Jacques Moueix renamed the estate in the early 20th.
The Giraud family, prominent right-bank landowners, owned and developed the property in its early years and built the chateau that still stands there. Even then the wine was among the most respected in Pomerol. Around the end of the 19th century the estate covered about 25 hectares, but parcels were split off and sold in the decades that followed.
After the Second World War, the Giraud descendants sold Trotanoy to the Pecresse family, who kept it only briefly. In 1953 it was bought by Jean-Pierre Moueix, the Libourne merchant. It has belonged to the Moueix business ever since.
The Moueix touch
Trotanoy is made by Etablissements Jean-Pierre Moueix, the Libourne merchant house that oversees several estates in Pomerol and St-Emilion. Christian Moueix, born in 1946, the son of Jean-Pierre, has led the company since his father stepped down in 1991. He also founded Dominus in California's Napa Valley, entering a partnership there in 1982 and becoming its sole owner in 1995.
The wine is made in a style often compared to Petrus. Since the 2009 vintage the grapes have passed over two laser sorting tables. They are fully destemmed, though stems were often included before the mid-1980s, and fermented in temperature-controlled concrete vats of 15 to 146 hectoliters. The wine then spends 18 to 20 months in French oak barrels, 40 to 50% of them new, depending on the vintage.
Because the gravel slopes run a little warmer than neighboring sites, the team often picks Trotanoy slightly earlier than its neighbors, gravel parcels first and clay parcels after. The estate is one of the last top Pomerol properties to practice deep plowing, which pushes the roots further down.
Black clay and iron
The vineyard measures about 7.2 hectares by most counts; one source gives 7.6. It splits into two halves: on the higher ground, rising to about 36 meters, gravel lies near the surface, while further down the gentle slopes the soil turns to deep black clay. Under the topsoil are gravel, sand and an iron-rich pan.
Plantings are dominated by Merlot, about 88 to 90%, with the rest Cabernet Franc. The vines average about 35 years old, but some parcels are more than 60, because Trotanoy was one of the few vineyards in the area not badly damaged by the great frost of 1956. Planting density is about 6,200 vines per hectare.
Production is small: about 25,000 bottles of the grand vin in a typical year, or roughly 2,250 cases. A second wine, L'Esperance de Trotanoy, first made in 2009 from a specific parcel and declassified lots, adds about 500 cases in the years it is made.
2016: drought, then just enough rain
The 2016 Bordeaux season opened with record rain through the first half of the year, then turned into one of the driest summers on record. From July into early September most properties saw barely 25 mm of rain, and one report called it the driest summer since 1900, with July to October temperatures 2.5 degrees C above the 30-year average. Cool nights preserved acidity, and short rains around September 13 and September 30 refreshed the vines before harvest.
At Trotanoy the final blend was 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Published alcohol figures for the wine conflict: one listing gives 13.2%, another 15.0%.
Critics ranked it among the best wines of Pomerol. Jane Anson scored it 99 from barrel in April 2017 ('Fruits, minerals, texture, layers; crazy!') and later 100, calling it 'merlot and clay at its height.' The Wine Advocate gave it 99, describing chocolate-covered cherries, black raspberries and mulberries with pencil lead, crushed rocks and a waft of star anise over a 'rock-solid frame of grainy tannins.' Jeb Dunnuck scored it 99 in February 2019, noting its sensational purity, and Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW gave it 99 in both 2018 and 2022. James Suckling scored it 98, Tim Atkin MW 96 and Jancis Robinson 18 out of 20.
One American critic who scored it 98 wrote that it offered 'truffles, truffles and more truffles' along with ripe plums, cherries and flowers on a silky, velvety palate, and advised at least a decade in the cellar.
The world in 2016
The 2016 vintage grew through a turbulent year. Bombings in Brussels in March killed 35 people. On June 23, as Bordeaux's drought set in, British voters chose to leave the European Union, and on Bastille Day a truck attack in Nice killed 86.
In August Rio de Janeiro hosted the first Olympics held in South America, and a powerful earthquake in central Italy killed 299 people. In November the Chicago Cubs won their first World Series in 108 years, and Donald Trump was elected president of the United States.
Finding a bottle
With only about 2,000 cases made in a typical year, Trotanoy is far scarcer than the large Medoc classed growths. In October 2026 a California merchant listed a 750 ml bottle of the 2016 at $359. That is an asking price, not a sale.
Buyers should take care not to confuse the grand vin with L'Esperance de Trotanoy, the second wine, which carries a larger share of Cabernet Franc and is made in much smaller quantities.
The numbers
- Vineyard
- About 7.2 ha (sources give 7 to 7.6)
- Plantings
- About 88 to 90% Merlot, the rest Cabernet Franc
- Vine density
- About 6,200 vines per ha
- Typical production
- About 25,000 bottles (around 2,250 cases)
- 2016 blend
- 95% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc
- 2016 alcohol
- Listings conflict: 13.2% or 15.0%
- Wine Advocate
- 99
- Jeb Dunnuck
- 99 (February 2019)
- Jane Anson
- 99 from barrel (April 2017); 100 later
- Jancis Robinson
- 18/20 (April 2017)
Timeline
The first vines are planted at Trotanoy.
Around the start of the 19th century, the wine is sold as Pomerol Giraud Cru de Trotanoy.
Around the turn of the century the estate covers about 25 hectares, before parcels are sold off.
Jean-Pierre Moueix buys Trotanoy from the Pecresse family.
A great frost devastates Bordeaux vineyards; Trotanoy is one of the few spared.
Christian Moueix takes over the family firm from his father.
Laser sorting tables arrive, and the second wine, L'Esperance de Trotanoy, is first made.
After record rain in the first half of the year, Bordeaux enters a near rain-free summer.
Critics taste the 2016 from barrel; Jane Anson scores it 99.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown scores the 2016 99 points.
Jeb Dunnuck scores the bottled 2016 99 points.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown again scores the 2016 99 points.
A California merchant lists a bottle of the 2016 at $359.
The world in 2016
Bombings at Brussels airport and a metro station kill 35 people.
The Panama Papers leak exposes the offshore finances of world leaders.
British voters approve leaving the European Union.
A truck attack during Bastille Day celebrations in Nice kills 86 people.
The Summer Olympics open in Rio de Janeiro, the first in South America.
An earthquake in central Italy kills 299 people.
Donald Trump is elected the 45th president of the United States.
Price record
| Date | Price | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2026 | $359 | Asking price, not a saleRetail asking price per 750 ml bottle ($359) at a California merchant. Not a sale. |
This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.
By reference price, Chateau Trotanoy 2016 is number 80 of 100 in the wine entries of the FLOAT 100. 12 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (63 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.
Did you know
- Trotanoy's name is usually traced to an old French phrase meaning 'too much bother,' a reference to its difficult soils.
- Trotanoy was one of the few Bordeaux vineyards spared by the catastrophic frost of 1956, so some of its vines are more than 60 years old.
- Around 1900 the estate was more than three times its present size, about 25 hectares.
- In its early days, only Vieux Chateau Certan was held in higher regard in Pomerol.
- The man who runs the firm that makes Trotanoy, Christian Moueix, also owns Dominus in Napa Valley.
- Trotanoy is one of the last top Pomerol estates to practice deep plowing.
How this page is made
- The figure
- One reference price, shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
- Realized or not
- A realized price is a completed sale. An asking price, an estimate and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
- The story
- Researched from published records and checked fact by fact. Updated Oct 3, 2026.
- Archive
- Oct 5, 2026