Chateau Troplong Mondot St Emilion 2017

Château Troplong Mondot, Saint Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe B, Bordeaux, France, 2017

Grapes: 85% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 13% Cabernet Sauvignon. 33ha of varied limestone/clay & chalk/flint soils on a 110m high hill-top south-east of the town of St Emilion. Yield:45 hl/h. Matured in 60% new oak barrels (untoasted)

New owners, French Insurance group SCOR, took over for the 2017 vintage. Previously, the style was more concentrated due to consultant Michel Rolland's influence. Now the aim is for a more elegant style.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"Licorice, smoke, black cherry, plum and crushed rocks create the nose. On the palate, the wine is full bodied, sweetly authentic and luxuriously textured. There is more virtue in the fruit but less density and lower alcohol than in previous vintages. The wine shows more influence from the limestone, instead of the clay. This dramatic change in style is a matter of choice by the new director, Aymeric de Gironde who is seeking more aromatic complexity and balance over power and ripeness in the wine"

95/100 points, Jeff Leve, THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER, April 2018

"Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Troplong Mondot is a little closed to begin, soon unfurling to reveal expanding notions of warm blackberries, wild blueberries and licorice plus hints of smoked meats, black olives, pencil shavings and truffles. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is packed mouth-coating black fruits, exploding into loads of earthy sparks with a soft, velvety texture from ripe, rounded tannins. It finishes with spectacular freshness and loads of layers." Drink 2024-2050

Being largely perched on a slope, Troplong Mondot saw hardly any frost this year—less than 10%. The other big news this vintage follows Aymeric de Gironde’s departure from Château Cos d’Estournel in the midst of harvest, arriving at Troplong Mondot just in time to work his magic on the vinification, creating what is an incredibly sleek and stylish 2017 Troplong Mondot. Bravo!

95/100 points, Lisa Perrotti-Brown, WINE ADVOCATE, March 2020

"Lacking the density of 2015/16, fragrance, freshness and early-drinking appeal are the key factors. Dark redcurrant and cherry, fine oak integration, a very elegant wine which speaks more about the vintage and terroir than winemaking. A new direction for Troplong-Mondot?" Drink 2023-2038

17+/20 points, Andy Howard MW, JANCISROBINSON.COM, May 2022