Vinous - Score: 94 (2012 March)

(95% merlot and 5% cabernet franc; 3.71 pH; IPT 79; 13.3% alcohol): Bright ruby-red. Ripe but still inexpressive on the nose, offering delicate aromas of red fruits, violet, crushed stone, menthol and wild herbs. Silky and round on entry, then rich and suave in the mid-palate, with a hint of smoky minerality nicely complementing the pure red and black fruit flavors. This is a marvelously balanced wine of great breed and purity. Finishes long, sweet and bright, with very smooth tannins and less of the earthy, leathery qualities found in some other Trotanoy vintages. The 2001 vintage saw a large crop but down slightly from the levels of 2000 and 1999. The growing season featured a wet winter, a fine spring, a dreary July, a warm August (though not as hot as 2000) and a cool but dry September, with low rainfall in August and September. "The 2001 is a very pure, refined and classy expression of merlot--what Bordeaux can do so well," according to Jean-Claude Berrouet.