Château TROPLONG-MONDOT 2019

Description

Antonio Galloni 96-98 points www.vinous.com
The 2019 Troplong Mondot is sensational. Rich, vibrant and explosive, the 2019 pulses with energy. Black cherry, violet plum, licorice, lavender and dark spice build in a statuesque Saint-Émilion endowed with tremendous energy and pure power. Troplong Mondot is not as obvious a wine as it was a few years ago, but its grandeur – and more importantly, the grandeur of this site – are evident. Troplong Mondot is a wine that simply can’t be denied. The 2019 is aging in 60% new oak and 40% a combination of once-used barrels, foudres and amphora.

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.

Lisa Perrotti-Brown 96-98 points www.robertparker.com
The 2019 Troplong Mondot is a blend this year of 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, harvested from the 10th to the 25th of September. The pH is 3.55—pretty incredible when you consider the alcohol is nearly 15%! I hasten to add that from tasting, I would have guessed this was 14.3% to 14.5% alcohol. It is the kind of wine with so much energy it practically does pirouettes on your palate. Opaque purple-black colored, the nose is fantastically floral, bursting from the glass with notes of candied violets, red roses and lavender over a core of plum preserves, wild blueberries and black raspberries with touches of garrigue, tilled soil, wild fungi and crushed rocks plus a waft of powdered cinnamon. The medium-bodied palate is like a tightly coiled spring, featuring beautifully knit layers of black and red fruits, earth and floral notes within a firm, fine-grained frame and bags of freshness, finishing long and mineral laced. This is a far cry from the old-school style of Troplong Mondot from a few years back, and it is incredibly impressive. This wine is aging in French oak barriques, some larger vats, and a small proportion is in amphorae. The oak portion is 60% new.

Jean-Marc Quarin 95 points www.quarin.com
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. Assemblage : 85 % merlot, 13 % cabernet sauvignon, 2 % cabernet franc. Degré d’alcool : 15° – pH : 3,55.

Neal Martin 95-97 points www.vinous.com
The 2019 Troplong Mondot needs an hour or two to settle and coalesce in the glass. As has been well documented, this is a reconfigured “TM” compared to those a decade ago – less flamboyant and ostentatious. Indeed, once it has shaken off that introspection, it unfurls with mainly black fruit, briary, sous-bois, hints of dark chocolate and mocha, perhaps one of the first Troplongs that I have encountered that is reminiscent of Pomerol. The palate is medium-bodied with very supple tannins. This is beautifully balanced with extremely well judged acidity. Its gentle personality belies the backbone of this Troplong, with touches of white pepper and tobacco toward the cerebral finish. It is a wonderful Saint-Émilion from Aymeric de Gironde and his team, more approachable than the 2018, to be frank, just a wine you are going to want to drink.

Yves Beck 96-97 points www.yvesbeck.wine
85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc
Beaucoup de fraîcheur de fruits et de précision dans ce bouquet. Notes de framboises et de fraises, qui confèrent de la fraîcheur, suivie de réglisse et d’une touche de poivre noir. En bouche le vin est frais, friand, et crémeux. Il a du corps et affiche une rafraîchissante tension en finale. Belle aptitude à faire cohabiter le côté friand et la race. C’est un grand vin, qui est en train de se dessiner.  2025-2042

Jane Anson 93 points  www.decanter.com (at Bordeaux, 30 May 2020)
Vibrant violet edging speaks of its limestone soil. I love the purity of the fruits, and the real chalkiness to the tannins on the finish. Clear density but one that is being uplifted by a cushion of air. This is elegant and sappy with cool blue fruits and precisely placed tannins on display. A brilliant wine for understanding terroir impact. Harvest from September 10 to 21 for the Merlots (before the rain), then October 24 for Cabernet Franc and October 7-8 for Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is now from newly-purchased plots that are entirely Asteries limestone, plus a few plots of Troplong that are also pure limestone (as opposed to the clay cover that is found on much of the property). Drinking Window 2024 – 2036