Troplong Mondot *Arriving Q4 2026

Wine Advocate 100: The 2005 Troplong Mondot is a blend of 90% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc. It was emotional tasting this wine, thinking of the late Christine Valette, who made this compelling wine while battling with considerable courage against an insidious disease. It is a great effort and a superstar of the vintage. Dense purple, it offers notes of white chocolate, blackberry, cassis and licorice as well as a hint of truffle and some subtle background oak. Full-bodied, multi-layered, and spectacularly pure and rich, it is a tour de force, and a great tribute to an incredible woman. Remarkably youthful, this wine probably needs another 4-8 years of bottle age, and should keep for 20 or more years. Kudos to the late Christine Valette!

Vinous 97: The 2005 Troplong Mondot is a heady, sumptuous beauty. Sweet black cherry, plum, chocolate, spice, new leather, licorice and menthol all open in the glass. Hedonistic and opulent to the core, the 2005 is a decidedly exuberant Saint-Émilion. I would open it a few hours in advance, as aeration helps soften some of the initial flamboyance. The 2005 is a gorgeous, captivating wine. It is modern Saint-Émilion at its finest. Moreover, it does not appear to have lost much, if anything, since the last time I tasted it a few years ago!

Wine Advocate 96: Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Troplong Mondot bounds out of the glass with plum preserves, spice cake, mincemeat and potpourri scents plus suggestions of exotic spices, incense and a waft of balsamic. Full-bodied, super rich, concentrated and plushly textured, the hedonic fruit possesses loads of spicy layers and a very long and decadent finish. If you love wines you can stand a spoon up in, you're gonna go nuts over this extravagant beauty.

James Suckling 96: Although this is very ripe and rich with a generous body and a slew of black fruit aromas it’s also elegant and poised. The bitter chocolate character is more restrained than in many modern-style Right Bank wines of this period and there's a lovely balance of lively acidity with fine dry tannins at the complex finish. Drink or hold.

Wine Advocate 98: Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Troplong Mondot explodes with beautiful floral notes of red roses and candied violets over a core of plum preserves, kirsch and blueberry pie with a waft of bouquet garni. Full-bodied, rich and decadently fruited, it has bags of plush tannins and just enough freshness, finishing very long and sinfully hedonic.

James Suckling 94: Very intense blackberry and blueberry character on the nose. Full body with super refined tannins and beautiful fruit. So delicious and pretty. Very rich and a little high-octane. Yet luscious and flamboyant. Try in 2018.

Vinous 94: The 2010 Troplong Mondot, which clocks in at 15.8% alcohol no less, actually has developed an elegant bouquet with perfumed red berry fruit laced with rose petal, sous-bois and pencil box aromas, focused and quite delineated. The palate is silky smooth on the entry with a fine bead of acidity. There is a fair whack of new oak and alcohol evident here, but that velvety finish and its persistence will be irresistible to those that like almost "brash" Saint-Émilions. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.

Decanter 92: One of the wines that I was most excited about retasting, just to check in on how this older style of Troplong has aged. The fruit factor here centres on fig and prunes, it is impressive, broad shouldered, concentrated and full of exotic spicing. No one would say this won't make an impression on a table, but you feel the manipulation, it is far from effortless. Higher alcohol evident, in a way that is rare in this vintage that has everything turned up to the max, and frankly 16%abv is extremely hard to reconcile with the balance that most people look for in Bordeaux.

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.

Wine Advocate 96: Blended of 90% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc aged in French oak, 85% new, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Troplong Mondot is redolent of warm plums, blackberry tart and blueberry pie with suggestions of underbrush, bay leaves, cedar chest and lavender plus a waft of baking spices. Full-bodied and full-throttle in the mouth, the palate is decadently packed with a solid core of black and blue fruit layers, supported with firm, grainy tannins and finishing with loads of spicy layers. This pedal-to-the-metal beauty is the ultimate indulgence for the hedonists!

James Suckling 98: Expressive, ripe dark plums swathed in aromas of mocha, toasted baking spices, graphite, blackberries and mulberries. The flavor-soaked palate arrives on suave, velvety tannins, delivering flavors of vibrant, concentrated dark plums, mulberries, dark chocolate and cocoa in a youthful, fresh style. Terrific wine with ultra-long finish. An essay in power and elegance. Essence-like. Best from 2020.

Decanter 94: The 2015 Troplong Mondot has a delightful, well-defined and focused bouquet. The new oak is seamlessly integrated, with blackcurrant, raspberry coulis, light cedar and orange blossom aromas. The palate is medium- bodied with grainy tannins, gentle grip and just a touch of wild mint with a dash of white pepper. This has very fine persistence, freshness and tension. The 2015 is a superb Saint-Émilion. Tasted blind at the 2015 Bordeaux Ten-Year-On tasting.

Wine Advocate 95: Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Troplong Mondot is a little closed to begin, soon unfurling to reveal expanding notions of warm blackberries, wild blueberries and licorice plus hints of smoked meats, black olives, pencil shavings and truffles. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed mouth-coating black fruits, exploding into loads of earthy sparks with a soft, velvety texture from ripe, rounded tannins. It finishes with spectacular freshness and loads of layers.

James Suckling 96: Very perfumed and subtle with crushed currants, smoke and blackberries. Medium to full body. Compressed, round tannins and a flavorful finish. Shows focus and finesse with serious structure for the vintage. It grows slowly on the palate. Really beautiful. Drink after 2022.

Vinous 98+: The 2017 Troplong Mondot is stunning, just as it was en primeur. Rich and ample, yet endowed with striking energy as well, the 2017 is the first vintage made by new CEO Aymeric de Gironde and consulting winemaker Thomas Duclos. The 2017 takes hold of all the senses and never lets up. All of the power that is typical of this site is evident, it seems to come so naturally, and yet picking earlier and then using a lighter hand in the cellar yielded a Troplong of uncommon energy and vibrancy. The 2017 has been nothing short of thrilling on the four occasions I have tasted it from bottle so far. What a wine!

Decanter 96: The first year of what has been a major stylistic shift at the property, with a mix of both evident changes - bringing the harvest date forward by two weeks for the first grapes, and behind the scenes, in terms of lower fermentation temperatures and no more malolactic in barrel. Emphasis on blue fruit, liquorice, cocoa, and slate, with a mouthwatering finish that promises a long life ahead. Owned 100% by SCOR insurance company as of this vintage, after a shareholding that began in 2014. New director Aymeric de Gironde came over from Cos d'Estournel on the Left Bank and ushered in this more pared back style (although even with earlier picking, alcohols are still high at Troplong, showing that terroir remains boss). 65% new oak for ageing. Very little affected by the frost, giving a yield of 45hl/ha, 95% used for the grand vin.

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.

Wine Advocate 95: The 2021 Troplong Mondot unwinds in the glass with aromas of dark berries, cherries and plums mingled with violets, exotic spices and smoke. Medium to full-bodied, deep and complete, the wine is layered and complex, with all the depth and authority that one expects from this clay-driven terroir, its concentrated core of fruit underpinned by sweet tannins and lively animating acids, concluding with a long, resonant finish. A blend of 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc with a remarkably low pH of 3.35, it's the first vintage produced in the estate's state-of-the-art new winery.

James Suckling 95-96: Lovely density here with a solid center-palate of fruit and fine tannins. Medium body. Underlying salinity and oyster-shell character in the finish. Well defined. Grows at the end.

Vinous 96: The 2021 Troplong Mondot is fabulous. It offers up a rush of dark red-toned fruit, crushed rocks, leather, menthol, cedar and blood orange. As always, Troplong Mondot is marked by a strong presence of Cabernet Sauvignon that seems to add brooding intensity, muscle and power. I tasted it three times. A bottle given a brief decant of about 20 minutes showed best. The 2021 spent 13 months in oak (two months less than normal), in a mix of 60% new, 21% 20-hectoliter cask and 19% once-used. The 2021 is a Troplong Mondot of extreme purity and class.

Decanter 93: Lovely aromas on the nose - beautifully delicate and fragrant - a touch of cola, blue fruits and salt with green pepper and toasted oak. Smells youthful, taut and lean on the palate but with a gorgeous tannin structure and a delicate yet filling weight. Certainly not plush or heavy, this is refined and focussed - crisp and mouthwatering, excellent energy and sense of life with a delicious moreish liquorice, wet stone finish. Extremely easy to like and super drinkable. They didn't try too hard here, this is a serious, well-constructed wine with depth but no heaviness.

Wine Enthusiast 93: This has floral wildflower aromas. Partial wood aging has produced a wine with light toast and pure acidity. Black-currant flavors are dominant with bright acidity as well as structure. Drink from 2027.

Wine Advocate 100: The 2022 Troplong Mondot has turned out brilliantly in bottle. Wafting from the glass with aromas of mulberries and blackberries mingled with notions of licorice, rose petals, incense and pencil shavings, it's full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, with huge mid-palate volume, superb integration and an ineffable sense of completeness. This site always delivers power, but I've never tasted a Troplong that's simultaneously quite so powerful or quite so harmonious and suave. Concluding with a broad, violet-inflected finish, the 2022 represents the essence of this remarkable site.

James Suckling 97-98: Very attractive aromas of plums and chocolate with hints of raspberry bush and hazelnut. So fresh and even savory with medium to full body. Such a wide tannin structure building up on the palate. Shows depth and length with lots of minerality. Floral. Beautiful already. 85% merlot, 13% cabernet sauvignon and 2% cabernet franc.

Vinous 98+: A wine of elegance and precision, the 2022 Troplong Mondot is exquisite. Crushed flowers, red berry fruit, blood orange, spice and menthol race across the palate. Troplong Mondot is without question one of the silkiest, most refined wines of the vintage. Absolutely nothing is out of place. Tasted two times.

Decanter 99: Glorious aromatics burst out of the glass with scents of dried herbs, tobacco, mint and blackcurrant. Sumptuous and filling in the best way, the texture, weight and depth of the flavours here is seriously impressive - round and wide but so finessed so that it doesn't feel too heavy. Restrained power with such confidence. Balanced, harmonious and totally moreish, this is an incredible wine that already feels so approachable. Tannins are flawless and the juicy berry fruit with soft salted liquorice edges give nuance and interest. Still a little shy but such potential here. Wonderful.

Wine Advocate 98-100: Picked between August 28 and September 25 (surely one of the broadest ranges in Bordeaux this year, but logical considering the estate's different altitudes and aspects), the 2025 Troplong Mondot is one of the wines of the vintage. Exhibiting a deep bouquet of blackberries and plums complemented by floral accents of lilac, iris and subtle spices, it's full-bodied, deep and dense, with a brooding core of fruit girdled by bright acids and sweet but abundant tannins. A blend of 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, it will rival the 2022, though in vintage signature the two years are very different. - William Kelley

James Suckling 97-98: A very structured wine with blackberry, hazelnut, dark chocolate, violet and some black licorice aromas. Full-bodied but in a reserved way, with super framing of the fine tannins. Elegant and structured. Fun to taste. 13.9% alcohol. 85% merlot, 13% cabernet sauvignon and 2% cabernet sauvignon. - James Suckling

Vinous 97-99: The 2025 Troplong Mondot is one of the most finessed wines I have ever tasted here. Dark, ample and explosive, with mind-blowing purity, the 2025 simply has it all. Hints of dried herbs, chocolate, menthol, licorice and blackberry infuse the wine with remarkable concentration and pure power. Even with all its natural richness, the 2025 is not at all heavy. A totally stunning Saint-Émilion, Troplong Mondot is very clearly one of the wines of the vintage. Harvest started on August 28 (the earliest ever) and wrapped up nearly a month later on September 25, which illustrates how diverse the terroirs are here. Aging was in 50% new oak, 40% 20HL foudre and 10% once- filled barrels. Tasted two times. - Antonio Galloni

Decanter 93: Fresh aromatics on the nose, some cool blue fruit elements, so fragrant too, lots of dried flowers and rose petals and black chocolate. Quite sharp, tangy and crisp with a lovely crunch to the raspberry and cranberry fruit. Soft, a touch grippy but altogether a really calm and balanced expression with juiciness and texture but nothing over the top. There’s concentration to the fruit for sure but expressed with finesse. A really lively, appealing, drinkable style. Very refined. Great sapidity. 3.43pH. No new oak, ageing 100% in 100hl wooden tanks. - Georgina Hindle