Château Troplong Mondot 1999

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.

Very pretty. Bright berry and mineral aromas in this medium-bodied, refined young wine. Medium- to full-bodied, with fine tannins and a medium, spicy finish. Best after 2004. 6,665 cases made.

Light, maturing crimson. Ripe nose without that much underneath. A little spiciness, lots of dustiness. Again, marked acidity and still some tannins. This has potential for development though. (JR)

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.

Lively, bright, fresh, red and dark red fruits, licorice, flowers, truffle, smoke and coffee bean aromas create the complex nose. The wine hovers between medium/full body, with soft, textures, fennel, plums and freshness in the finish. This is probably fully mature. If I had any bottles, I'd drink them over the next few years, as the wine will probably fade from here.

A red wine with quite an evolved colour. The core still shows a fairly dense ruby-red, but the rim is rather tawny. It’s starting to fade a little, suggesting some age. The nose is really fine and clearly points to maturity; above all, it feels complex. It brings many different elements together: damp tobacco, cedar wood—almost a cigar-box note—alongside leather, earthy tones, smoke and truffle. There’s also very lively fruit, with plenty of wild berry notes. The palate still has good density, with finely distributed tannins. Plenty of extract, yet with lovely maturity. Those wild berry flavours return with delicate spices—like a spice box—along with tobacco and wood. Quite sophisticated at this stage. It should probably go on for another twelve to fifteen years, roughly speaking. Complex and layered, with a very long finish. Its real strength is the powerful, fruit-driven attack, followed by a truly long, nuanced and spicy finish. A mature, sophisticated wine to enjoy today.

Deep, bright ruby-purple color. Slightly woody, reserved bouquet with cherry notes and a certain sweetness of amarena cherry. Velvety palate with ripe Merlot, milk chocolate and a gently jammy extract, raspberry seeds on the lightly bitter, extracted finish.

00: Barrel sample (17/20): A somewhat woody, closed bouquet with a certain sweetness of Amarena cherries. Velvety palate with ripe Merlot, milk chocolate and a gently jammy extract, plus raspberry seeds in the slightly bitter, extracted finish. 02: Ripe, jammy nose; lots of red berries. Surprisingly firm on the palate, with floury outlines; seems too concentrated (17/20). 04: Medium garnet with a ruby rim. An extremely Amarena-driven bouquet, coffee, jammy tones, alcoholic, phenolic notes, a raisiny sheen, but also a slightly disruptive airy note. Intense, compact palate, coarse texture studded with sinewy, strict, coarse-grained tannins; also peach pits. Overall, however, rather hard and a bit over-extracted. Will it still come into harmony? Otherwise simply something for “power-wine” drinkers. 17/20 2005–2013

A spicy, sweet, powerful bouquet with Damassine plum, currant and smoky notes. A firm, lean palate with good tannins, sweet aromatics and a dry finish. 17/20 drink now.

Vigorous and confident in its fruit structure, with black chocolate, cigar box, pencil lead, white truffle, undergrowth, charcoal. Very much ready to drink, with tannins that are still holding the fruit but also giving it room to breathe. I gave this 94 out of magnum a few weeks ago, and would strongly suggest looking for it in the larger format. 100% new oak, Michel Rolland consultant.

Logo on the cork: SBM Brett on the nose! The palate lacks structure, fades quickly, and leaves only oak on the finish. A simple wine. Past its peak.