Château Trotte Vieille, alternately Château Trottevieille, is a
Bordeaux wine
Bordeaux wine (; ) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city, the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the broad estuary called the Gironde; the Gi ...
producer from the
appellation
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, s ...
Saint-Émilion
Saint-Émilion (; Gascon dialect, Gascon: ''Sent Milion'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in Southwestern France.
In the heart of the country of Libournais (the area around Libourne), in a regio ...
, ranked ''Premier grand cru classé B'' in the
Classification of Saint-Émilion wine
In 1955, the Saint-Émilion AOC, wines of Saint-Émilion in the wine-growing region of Bordeaux wine, Bordeaux were classified. Unlike the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 covering wines from the Médoc and Graves (wine region), Grave ...
. The estate is located in the Right Bank of France’s
Bordeaux wine region
The wine regions of Bordeaux in France are a large number of wine growing areas, differing widely in size and sometimes overlapping, which lie within the overarching wine region of Bordeaux, centred on the city of Bordeaux and covering the whole ...
in the commune of Saint-Émilion, in the department
Gironde
Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749. .
The estate also produces the
second wine
Second wine or second label (French: ''Second vin'') is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from '' cuvee'' not selected for use in the ''Grand vin'' or first label. In some cases a third wine or e ...
Dame de Trotte Vieille (since 2002).
History
Situated below
Château Troplong Mondot, the name of the estate is suggested to derive from ''la trotte vieille'' (English: ''old trotting lady''), invoking a story of an elderly woman who once regularly trotted by nearby roads.
[ More likely is however the relation to the Swiss word for wine press "Trotte".]
In 1949, Trottevieille was acquired by Marcel Borie, head of the firm Borie-Manoux
Borie-Manoux is a Bordeaux wine ''négociant'' house, and winery and wine merchant group, initially founded as Negociant Borie by Pierre Borie in Pauillac in 1870. The firm was situated in Pauillac until the late 1940s when it was moved to Bordeau ...
, who left the estate to his son-in-law Emile Castéja.
To date the estate is owned by Borie-Manoux, also owners of Château Batailley
Château Batailley is a winery in the Pauillac Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, appellation of the Bordeaux wine regions, Bordeaux region of France. The wine produced at the estate was classified as one of eighteen ''Cinquièmes Crus'' (Fifth ...
and Château Lynch-Moussas, making it the only ''Saint-Émilion grand cru'' owned by a Bordeaux négociant.[ It is currently managed by Philippe Castéja, with ]oenologist
Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...
s Gilles Pauquet and Denis Dubourdieu as consultants.[
]
Production
The vineyard area extends with a grape variety distribution of 50% Merlot
Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...
, 45% Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...
and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...
. Of the ''Grand vin'', Château Trotte Vieille, and the second wine, La Vieille Dame de Trotte Vieille, there is a total annual production of 3,000 cases.
References
Château Trotte Vieille technical data
;Footnotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trottevieille, Chateau
Bordeaux wine producers
Saint-Émilion wine