85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc.
"The purity of fruit is pretty phenomenal here with blackcurrants, cherries and crushed-stone undertones. Floral notes of roses and violets, too. Full-bodied, yet this is a linear style with super fine tannins and great length and beauty. You really want to drink it. It grows on the palate and shows real power, with breadth and depth. Remains fresh throughout. Really something." - James Suckling
"Straight away a depth and clarity to the raspberry, loganberry, bilberry, cassis fruits, with touches of gunsmoke. As it opens in the palate, and the whole thing deepens, suddenly drops down, a trap door of flavour opens and you start to see just how good this wine is. Contained power, with liquorice and mint leaf. Waves of aromatics, see the construction and how it opens in the palate. This is impressive, confident. Thomas Duclos consultant. 65% new oak, and 35% one year old barrels, with trials on amphoras and with larger 70hl oak casks. Harvest September 11 to October 5, a leisurely harvest. With wines that have changed their vinification in the way that Troplong has (Aymeric de Gironde arrived in 2017), tasting in bottle is really important to see if the changes can hold during ageing and live up to promise." - Jane Anson - Inside Bordeaux
"Has any Bordeaux château realized a more wholesale stylistic revolution in so short a time than Troplong Mondot? Since Aymeric de Gironde arrived at the estate in late 2017, the ultra powerful "shock and awe" style of the 2000s is out, and a new refinement is in. Of course, the deep clays that define the core vineyards around the château itself are never likely to produce light or ephemeral wines, but de Gironde has astutely understood that (to develop an analogy), when driving down hill, one can ease off on the accelerator. The 2019 Troplong Mondot is a ringing endorsement of the new direction, wafting from the glass with complex aromas of wild berries, violets, coniferous forest floor, licorice, raw cocoa and subtle spices, followed by a full-bodied, velvety and layered palate that's seamless and perfumed, its enveloping core of succulent fruit framed by rich, powdery tannins and lively acids. Harmonious and penetrating, I never thought I'd taste a wine like this from Troplong Mondot." - Robert Parkers Wine Advocate
"The 2019 Troplong-Mondot, which was the first vintage without any malo in barrel, has a beautifully defined bouquet of blackberry, cranberry, touches of graphite and cedar aromas that gain intensity with aeration. The oak here is very well integrated. The palate is medium-bodied, elegant and poised, with silky-smooth tannins and a complex, black-pepper- and allspice-tinged finish. Caressing in the mouth, delivering extremely well integrated oak and a classically styled, minerally finish. Superb." - Neal Martin
"The 2019 Mondot is racy and voluptuous to the core. Sweet red cherry, plum, spice, blood orange and floral notes give the 2019 lovely brightness to play off the radiant fruit. Medium in body and perfumed, with plenty of textural richness, Mondot is a gorgeous second wine. The 2019 Mondot is 100% Merlot from soils on limestone from the former Clos La Barde, which Troplong Mondot acquired in 2018. Aging is in neutral oak. Troplong Mondot has undergone a radical transformation since 2017 under the stewardship of Managing Director Aymeric de Gironde. Today, picking is earlier, there is greater focus on a parcel by parcel approach at harvest, no SO2 is used until barreling down, and for the first time, none of the malolactic fermentation was done in oak. Harvest took place from September 10 through October 7. De Gironde was among the managers who reported clusters of uneven ripeness, but added he is more comfortable with that than he might have been a few years ago, a way of thinking that is becoming more common in Bordeaux. In tasting, Troplong Mondot remains a big, broad-shouldered Saint-Émilion, but now it also has more energy and vibrancy than in the past." - Antonio Galloni - Vinous
"The Grand Vin 2019 Château Troplong Mondot checks in as 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc, brought up in a mix of new and used barrels. Its deep ruby/purple hue is followed by a pretty perfume of redcurrants, black cherries, spring flowers, damp earth, and candied violets. While harvested incredibly early, it pulls it off and is ripe, textured, and balanced, although it doesn't have the density or mid-palate of the top wines in the vintage. This elegant, complex, medium to full-bodied Saint-Emilion is going to hit maturity in 7-8 years and have 20+ years of prime drinking." - Jeb Dennuck
"Couleur sombre, intense et vive. Nez intense, fin, pur, au fruité mûr et épicé. Immédiatement délicat dès l'entrée en bouche, plus floral que jamais, minutieux dans son toucher et sans cesse parfumé, le vin s'étire en finale, savoureux et délicatement complexe dans son déroulé. Bonne longueur." - Jean-Marc Quarin
Das Château Troplong Mondot
Das Château Troplong Mondot ist eines der führenden Weingüter der französischen Gemeinde Saint-Émilion in der Region von Bordeaux. Im Jahr 1980 übernahm die 2014 verstorbene Christine Valette das wunderschöne Chateau, das auf den Hügeln oberhalb der Stadt liegt und direkter Nachbar von Pavie Macquin und La Mondotte ist. Mit seinen 37 Hektar in einem Stück ist es eines der größten in der Region.
Mitte der 80er Jahre kam Michel Rolland als verantwortlicher Önologe hinzu und so ist es kein Wunder, dass die Weine von diesem erstklassigen Terroir seit Ende der 80er Jahre zu den besten Saint-Emilions zählen. Das liegt auch an der Entscheidung, die schwächeren Partien als Zweitwein zu füllen, der Grand Vin des Grand Cru Classes hat dadurch deutlich gewonnen. Die Weine sind immer sehr dunkel und körperreich und verfügen über eine berauschend fette Nase. Die späte Lese aus sehr alten Reben ergibt große Mengen süßen Tannins und sehr hohe Extrakt- und Glyzerinwerte. Troplong ist immer eine muskulöse Fruchtbombe mit einem Touch Bitterschokolade und nicht jeder Finessetrinker mag diese hohe Intensität. Die Veränderungen und die harte Arbeit wurden belohnt: seit 2006 ist dieses Chateau in den Olymp der höchsten Saint-Emilion Klassifikation aufgestiegen.
Die Lese erfolgt von Hand. Beschädigtes Lesegut wird vor der Kelterung aussortiert, die Trauben werden vollständig entrappt. Vor der Vergärung erfahren die Beeren eine bis zu einer Woche dauernde Mazeration. Die Gärung findet in kleinen Edelstahlbehältern statt, die Maischegärung dauert vier bis fünf Wochen. Die Malolaktische Gärung findet überwiegend in Barriquefässern statt, von denen jährlich drei Viertel erneuert werden. Je nach Jahrgang dauert der Fassausbau zwischen 12 und 24 Monaten. In der Jugend noch vom Barrique geprägt, benötigt er vier bis fünf Jahre Flaschenreife, bis die Charakteristik eines großen Saint-Émilion hervortritt. Im Keller baut er dann 10–20 Jahre lang weiter aus.