Château Troplong Mondot, 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion, 2025
Aymeric de Gironde explained that they lost 50% of the crop due to a very strong westerly wind that acted like a hairdryer. As always, this powerful clay and limestone terroir needs to be tamed. Under Aymeric, Troplong has become a much more refined, less bombastic wine. The 2025 has a real limestone character - vibrant and fresh, nervy, bright-fruited, Morello cherry and cranberries, bramble and leafy cassis supported by grippy tannins with suggestions of clove, blood orange, vanilla and fine salts. All energy and zip.
critic reviews
The 2025 Troplong Mondot is raised in 50% new oak, 40% foudres and 10% in one-year-old barrels. It has a very intense bouquet with black cherries, cassis and iris flower scents, and a hint of inkwell. Very well defined. The palate is medium-bodied with chalky tannins, plenty of tension and minéralité. Vivacious and yet linear and correct, it delivers plenty of fruit but in a very controlled fashion. You can feel the tongue tingling on the finish. Classy and sophisticated, this will rank as one of the finest Troplong Mondots to date.
Picked between August 28 and September 25 (surely one of the broadest ranges in Bordeaux this year, but logical considering the estate's different altitudes and aspects), the 2025 Troplong Mondot is one of the wines of the vintage. Exhibiting a deep bouquet of blackberries and plums complemented by floral accents of lilac, iris and subtle spices, it's full-bodied, deep and dense, with a brooding core of fruit girdled by bright acids and sweet but abundant tannins. A blend of 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, it will rival the 2022, though in vintage signature the two years are very different.
The 2025 Troplong Mondot is one of the most finessed wines I have ever tasted here. Dark, ample and explosive, with mind-blowing purity, the 2025 simply has it all. Hints of dried herbs, chocolate, menthol, licorice and blackberry infuse the wine with remarkable concentration and pure power. Even with all its natural richness, the 2025 is not at all heavy. A totally stunning Saint-Émilion, Troplong Mondot is very clearly one of the wines of the vintage. Harvest started on August 28 (the earliest ever) and wrapped up nearly a month later on September 25, which illustrates how diverse the terroirs are here. Aging was in 50% new oak, 40% 20HL foudre and 10% once-filled barrels. Tasted two times.