Château Troplong Mondot 2020

Sleek and fresh, with alluring black cherry and red currant coulis notes lined with a floral hint, ending with a caressing feel. Not big but sneaky long, with a subtle flint echo at the very end. Approachable now too, but will benefit from some cellaring. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2035.

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.

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. Drink after 2027.

The 2020 Troplong Mondot has a limpid dark hue. The bouquet is intense with black cherries, red plum, Earl Grey and very subtle floral scents, a mixture of peony and violet. The palate is medium-bodied with very pliant tannins, fine acidity, taut and fresh. With moderate depth, this Troplong possesses impressive salinity, a little powdery texture towards the finish, with a gentle but insistent grip. Black fruit dominates here, chalky and terroir-driven, so you can feel the terroir tingling on the aftertaste. Quite a “serious” Saint-Émilion, it will require half a dozen or so years to show what it is capable of. NB A decanted bottle had more “pixelation” on the finish.

Flowers, cherries, plums, licorice, and an array of spices greet your nose. The wine is rich, full-bodied, concentrated, seductive, and packed from start to finish with layers of crushed rocks, licorice, blackberries, currants, and cocoa, ending with light touches of chalk, along with sweet red and black pit fruits that build as they linger. Similar to what I found with the barrel sample, even with all its richness, the wine remains light on its feet with its strong sense of minerality and lift. Drink from 2027–2055.

Deep ruby, opaque core, purple reflections. Sweet dark berry fruit, nuances of cassis and blackberries, a hint of fig, subtle herbal savoriness, a mineral touch. Substantial and powerful, black cherries, ripe, with supporting yet silky tannins, dark nougat on the finish, great aromatic depth, impressive length, and definite ageing potential.

Densely woven bouquet: fresh wild cherry, beguiling jasmine aroma, a hint of mint, milk chocolate and fir honey. On the complex palate, silky texture, balanced, finely peppery drive, building good tension, with a tight-knit tannic frame and an athletic body. In the concentrated finish: dark-berry contours, cooled Earl Grey, cocoa powder and dried kitchen herbs – everything is in its right place here, and patience is advised. Since Director Aymeric de Gironde took the helm here in 2018, this St.-Émilion has been on a steep upward trajectory. It therefore rightly belongs on every shopping list in the First category.

Kunz barrel sample 2021: a dense, fresh, powerful, elegant and complex bouquet, raspberries, cherries, pralines, tobacco, mint, flint. A tightly woven, elegant, finely textured palate with fresh, powerful, precise fruit, diverse, sweet-toned aromatics, fine tannins, a dense, refined structure, and a long, powerful finish.

Powerful and tightly knit, this feels both crafted and hewn from the clay-limestone slopes of Troplong. Blueberry, plum, slate, cocoa, espresso; all the power of this estate delivered with salt-studded chocolate, liquorice root, cocoa powder, mint leaf—just a brilliant wine that finishes with a whoosh of freshness and lift. Only 2mm of rain in July and 30mm in August, but the deep clay-limestones at Troplong kept their freshness, and there were no blockages in ripening. Thomas Duclos consultant, Aymeric de Gironde director. Last vintage before the new cellar was completed. 60% new oak, pH 3.53.

95-96

Once again—and it bears repeating—we can clearly see that Troplong Mondot’s priority is no longer brilliance but subtlety. Though one does not preclude the other. You can be subtly brilliant; it’s just a matter of balance! Here, everything feels coordinated, controlled, well‑guided, yet still creative. The aim is not to apply templates, but to be receptive to what is obtained and to convey it in the wine in a relevant, non‑demonstrative way. A Troplong Mondot that is powerful, elegant, harmonious, and persistent. It has the advantage of being enjoyable today, for those who insist, then tomorrow for the patient, and even the day after tomorrow for the very patient.

Dense, elegant, fresh, powerful, finely mineral bouquet, strawberry jelly, blueberries, slate, pralines, mint. Finely creamy, dense, velvety, elegant palate with powerful, fresh fruit, intense, complex aromatics, tightly woven, finely muscular structure, plenty of fine tannins, very long, fresh finish. 19/20 2028 - 2050

95–97. Barrel Sample. Rich and powerful, dense and compact, with a mineral edge, this is a ripe wine with layers of dark tannins. It does have fresh acidity to balance the black currant fruits. Tannins burst through the fruit, offering a huge long-term structure. An impressive wine.