Troplong Mondot

A Saint-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe estate, Troplong Mondot dates to 1745, and was once part of the same holdings as Chateau Pavie. On the highest point of the appellation, this great terroir brings about its charismatic and stuning wines.

1999

Vinous 89: The 1999 Troplong Mondot has a fresh bouquet of black currant, lavender, juniper berry and light floral scents. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin and good body but not much complexity. Moderate in terms of freshness, this feels as if it has reached full maturity. The rather rustic, “big-boned” finish delivers grip, if not quite enough flesh. Fine. Tasted from an ex-château bottle at the estate.

Wine Advocate 89: Elegant vanillin, black cherry, and smoky notes emerge from this textured, medium-bodied 1999. It has a dense ruby/purple color as well as an enormous, concentrated, finesse-styled personality. It is not a blockbuster, but it is a beautifully symmetrical, pure, ripe, well-balanced Troplong Mondot that will benefit from two years of cellaring and age gracefully for 14-15 years.

2007

Wine Advocate 92: The 2007 Troplong-Mondot has long been a Saint Emilion that has surpassed the vintage. It has a sophisticated bouquet with crushed strawberry, fresh mint and subtle gamy aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly grainy tannin on the entry, the fruit a little darker and the personality a little broodier than the Canon-la-Gaffelière, gently fanning out on the almost Pomerol-like finish. Probably à point, but it will give another decade's worth of pleasure. Tasted February 2017.

2011

Wine Advocate 95: The brilliant 2011 Troplong Mondot is one of the superstars of the vintage. The final blend was 89% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, and the wine tips the scales at 14.5% alcohol. Its opaque blue/purple, nearly black color is followed by aromas of blueberry liqueur interwoven with black raspberries, blackberries, licorice, camphor and forest floor. Among the most complete wines of the vintage, with no hollowness, astringency or herbaceousness, this is a tour de force in a challenging vintage. Some tannins are noticeable, but this 2011 is already approachable and should provide delicious, complex drinking over the next two decades. Bravo!

James Suckling 93: This is a muscular wine for the vintage with loads of fruit and tannins, not to mention the new wood. Full body, chewy and intense. Lots of minerals, sweet tobacco and berries. Needs a least three to four years to soften. A big, muscular 2011. 85% merlot, 10% cabernet sauvignon and 5% cabernet franc.

2012

Wine Advocate 96: The 2012 is another truly great wine from Troplong Mondot. It’s always sentimental to taste this wine, realizing that proprietress Christine Valette (the larger-than-life heart and soul behind this estate) has passed away. She was one of the bright, shining stars of Bordeaux. Nevertheless, her legacy is certainly well-established, and the quality of this wine is beyond reproach. Inky bluish purple, its great notes of cassis, blackberry, licorice are followed by a full-bodied, opulently textured wine with stunning concentration, purity and overall balance. It should drink well for 20-25 years and turn out to be one of the great superstars of 2012. Their 63-acre vineyard was cropped at 31 hectoliters per hectare, producing a final blend of 90% Merlot and 10 Cabernet Sauvignon that achieved 14.2% alcohol.

James Suckling 94: This is concentrated and impressive for the vintage with beautiful ripe fruit, minerals, chocolate and light-coffee character. Full body, polished tannins and a long finish. Better in 2018.

2020

Wine Advocate 98+: The 2020 Troplong Mondot may prove to be even better than the brilliant 2019, and it is one of the Right Bank's finest wines in this vintage. Unwinding in the glass with deep aromas of mulberries, blackberries and red cherries mingled with hints of rose petal, licorice and exotic spices, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, with a satiny attack that segues into a vibrant, polished mid-palate, concluding with a long, resonant finish. Having seen only 65% new oak and with malolactic fermentation completed in tank rather than in barrel, it's remarkably pure and seamless. With the 2020 vintage, this estate's stylistic redemption appears to be complete.

James Suckling 97: A soft and round red with plum and milk chocolate. Hazelnuts. Full-bodied and layered. Juicy. Hints of sea salt. Power is there. Turns firm and vivid. So attractive now. Savory. Needs three to four years to open.

Decanter 100: A sensational Troplong. Vibrant and vivid, this makes you smile from the first smell: milk chocolate, floral notes of roses and lavender, wet stones, liquorice, cinnamon and ripe bramble fruits. Round and thrilling on the palate, tannins are abundant with a chalky blueberry coolness while a salty tang settles around the mouth. Lovely precision and purity of fruit; you feel the sharp definition - still linear which makes it less immediately charming than the 2019 but giving undeniable complexity. Deep but not heady, this remains pure and detailed, with a leanness from the terroir really setting this apart. After a few minutes, the glamour starts to appear giving a salivating, succulent and moreish aspect to the finish. An absolute beauty.