Château Troplong Mondot, 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion, 2015
Troplong Mondot is not afraid of making large-scale wines with gobs of glycerol and high abv. 2015 is no exception. The nose offers Californian aromatics of crème de cassis, eucalyptus, sloes and huckleberry. The palate is gutsy with pure blackcurrant, mulberry and mineral notes. It is an impressive wine that despite its ambitious proportions, manages to hold everything together with freshness and its mineral infused tannins.
critic reviews
The 2015 Troplong Mondot predates the arrival of Aymeric de Gironde and this is a complete 180° in style. It has a punchy bouquet with dark plummy fruit, melted tar and light sous-bois scents, but it lacks the joie-de-vivre of the Valandraud. The palate is full-bodied and Bretty in style. This is an animally Troplong Mondot with a smudged finish that lacks precision. It feels a bit jammy and confit-like. The 2015 is just not my style.
This captures the exuberance of Troplong in the Xavier Pariente years. Visually it captures the natural power of these soils, with vivid violet plum colour, and beautiful liquorice root and cocoa bean, but it opens to show fig and prune fruits, given balance by bitter fennel and aniseed on the finish. The alcohol is evident, and it overpowers the clearly concentrated body of the wine. Still young - if you can bear to wait, check in after another half decade. 85% new oak. Michel Rolland consultant.