Tasting with Thibault
A fascinating tasting of Troplong Mondot wines with my old friend and great man of wine, Thibault Odent. Thibault is genuinely funny, irreverent, and cheekily mischievous; tasting wine with him is very enjoyable, a good time is always had by all.
Power and Grace
Chateau Troplong Mondot is a 43-hectare Saint Emilion property with Grand Cru Classe (B) status, planted to 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% to Cabernet Franc. The vineyard spans high ground known as Mondot Hill, the highest elevation and some of the finest terroir in the entire region.
Abbot Raymond de Seze built the impressive chateau in 1745. It was originally part of a much larger domain owned by the noble de Seze family and included the vineyards of Chateau Pavie and several others. In 1850, Raymond Troplong, who gave his name to the estate purchased the property, making it Chateau Troplong Mondot.
The property was owned for three years by negociant Georges Thienport, who sold it to another negociant, Alexandre Valette, in the 1930s. The estate underwent a remarkable transformation once Alexandre’s great-granddaughter, the formidable Christine Valette, took over both ownership and management of the property in 1981, along with her husband, Xavier Pariente.
Under Christine’s direction, the estate began picking later, reducing yields, and increasing its percentage of new oak. An extensive survey of the vineyard soil was undertaken, its biodiversity was restored. Renowned winemaker Michel Rolland was brought in, and the wines were soon darker, richer, bigger, more oaky, riper, and much more concentrated. Influential people were soon taking notice.
One hundred points from renowned wine critic Robert Parker followed, along with many accolades and rave reviews from across the world of wine. Chateau Troplong Mondot was then being talked about as one of the finest wines in the region and one of the great wines of the world.
Then, in 2006, Christine Valette saw her Chateau lifted in the Saint-Emilion Classification to a 1er Grand Cru Classe (B). Christine Valette’s achievement is by now the stuff of Bordeaux legend. Yet, as she finally reached the pinnacle of her own personal mountain, a far more serious battle was to rear up and confront her. In 2014, after a two-year battle with cancer, Christine Valette sadly passed away at the age of just 57.
Elegance and Place
In 2014, the estate was bought at a record price per hectare by the French insurance company SCOR SE, yet another French insurance company to enter the prestige wine market. They also purchased an additional 10 hectares from neighbouring Château Bellisle Mondotte and Clos la Barde, bringing up the estate to a total of 43 hectares.
Aymeric de Gironde, formerly of Pichon Baron and Cos d’Estournel, was brought in as winemaker, as well as consultant Thomas Duclot, who had most famously worked with Chateau Canon. Significant investment was made in the form of building new cellars. The winery itself was doubled in size, with 12-meter-high ceilings said to represent the depth of the vines’ penetration into the estate’s famous limestone soils.
Dramatic changes were immediately implemented in the winemaking: harvest was much earlier, and the use of new oak was scaled back significantly. Robert Parker once described the wines as being “full-bodied, multi-layered and spectacularly rich.” Now, the winery sought to produce wines of a completely different style, wines that were much lighter, more elegant, and refined, ultimately, wines that were truer to their terroir and greater expressions of place.
Troplong Mondot also became the first French winery to sign with IWCA (International Wineries for Climate Action) and are aiming at carbon neutrality in the future. The new direction for the Chateau and its most recent wines has been met with genuine excitement and pretty much universal approval in both the media and the market, and it sees itself as now being well-positioned to adapt to and cope with the challenges of global warming and protecting its environment for future generations.
A Judgement in Style
Especially given the vintages tasted here, but really, virtually any review of Troplong Mondot’s wines will spark conjecture and some healthy debate about preferences of winemaking philosophy and ultimately, of style.
Some stand firmly by the powerful Christine Valette/Michel Rolland wines so loved by critic Robert Parker, which rapidly shot the Chateau to worldwide recognition and fame.
Others prefer the terroir-driven elegance and structure of the modern Aymeric de Gironde/Thomas Duclot era.
For me, the conclusions are straightforward: one, a wine that is a hero of its time, the other a wine with a noble sense of place. To employ a rather Hegelian dialectic, the risk here is to go too far in either direction; the finest Troplong Mondot wines are those that are an expression of their fruit, their terroir and the vintage that gave them life. Thesis, followed by antithesis, ultimately leading to synthesis.
Tasted mid-afternoon on a Tuesday in the private function room of Topaz restaurant, the palace of Phnom Penh’s French fine dining scene, with members of the Cambodia Sommeliers’ Association.
Mondot, Saint Emillion, 2021
The second wine of Chateau Troplong Mondot is produced from 100% Merlot. 2021 was a difficult and often wet vintage, a tough year, the wines are at best fresh, elegant, and marked with a persistent minerality. What they lack is depth and concentration, they can make up for with charm and approachability. This Mondot definitely exhibits the challenges of the year, but the winemaking is pristine, the structure impeccable and the wine an exercise in elegance and restraint. 89/100
Chateau Troplong Mondot, Saint Emilion GRAND CRU CLASSE (B), 2015
90% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc
Perhaps the last of the great powerful wines from the Chateau and a testament to the drive, style and force of nature that was and remains a legacy of the much-loved Christine Valette. The wine was matured in French oak barrels (85% new).
At ten years of age, it is showing the first flush of tertiary character in its aroma, a touch of roasted hazelnuts in a whirl of dark chocolate, coffee-grinds, and cigar box, over a compote of forest berries. The wine glides onto the palate, like a hippo in a tutu, and on roller-skates, it is creamy, rich and a little chunky. However, there is nothing awkward here; there is grace along with that power. A little sweetness and spice and all things nice, opulence wrapped up in rich, earthy tones, an almost brooding depth, and grainy, fine tannins. A magnificent wine from a legendary vintage. 96/100
Chateau Troplong Mondot, Saint Emilion GRAND CRU CLASSE (B), 2018
85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc
A warm-to-hot and dry vintage, where fruit from the limestone soils in Saint Emilion absolutely shone. For Chateau Troplong Mondot, it heralds the birth of cool, the style is earlier picked fruit, producing structured wines, wines with elegance, sophistication, and impeccable, almost spotless winemaking. The fruit had also been picked earlier in the previous vintage, but 2018 saw the start of a trio of exceptional vintages in Saint Emilion, giving the direction a firm footing, allowing the winery to give full expression to this new style. The wine was matured in French oak barrels (60% new).
It is a brilliant wine, eight years young and barely showing any age. Aromas are restrained and complex with red berries, plums, and cherry, along with hints of tobacco, star anise and wood spices. There is a lovely core of complex forest berries mid-palate, whilst spices, earthy notes, and truffle frame the fruit. The wine has enticing length and finishes with fine, silky tannins. An exceptional wine that still needs a few years to hit its peak, 97/100.
Darren Gall
