2020 Château Troplong Mondot Saint-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé

The history of this 1er Grand Cru Classé goes back to 1745 when it was still called Domaine de Mondot and was part of Château Pavie, now 1er Grand Cru Classé A. With the arrival of Raymond Troplong in 1850, the two names were merged and Château Troplong Mondot was a fact. Château Troplong Mondot was the first Grand Cru Classé of Saint-Emilion. This 43-hectare estate, located at the highest point of the appellation, is fully exposed. The terroir of Ch. Troplong Mondot is located on top of the highest point of the Côte Pavie, in Saint Laurent de Combes, where the greatest wines of Saint Emilion are made. The soil is rich in limestone and planted with 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Harvesting is done entirely manually. The aging takes place for 18 months in barriques, 75% of which are new. The famous oenologist Michel Rolland has been guiding this winery since 1980.

The Troplong Mondot 2020 is a blend of 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, harvested from September 4. The wine has a beautiful almost opaque purple color and it opens with a vibrant burst of black fruits - stewed plums, baked blackberries and blueberries - giving way to a fragrant undertone of licorice, ground cloves, cinnamon stick and lilac with a hint of bouquet garni. On the palate, the Troplong Mondot is packed with juicy black fruit and savory notes framed by fantastically ripe, fine-grained tannins and bold freshness with a long and luscious finish. Just crazy that this oldest Saint Emilion house Grandcru house has had such high scores from all wine critics.

Our limestone and clay soils have really done their job of absorbing the winter moisture," says Aymeric de Gironde, winemaker at Troplong Mondot. "In the middle of the vineyard, they have the clay soils with big stones and flint and here you all that generosity for free, because you get a lot of strength and structure, then you have the rim, which has a limestone base, the limestone and earlier harvest give a minerality, with the softness of the tannins, making it a very round and dynamic wine.