Bordeaux 2024: Calon Ségur and Troplong Mondot

Following the release of the Clarence Dillon wines, we have two more leading chateaux to offer: Calon Segur and Troplong Mondot.

Vincent Millet has been at Calon Ségur for as long as we can remember. He was there for our early morning tastings with the formidable Madame Gasqueton back in the day, and he’s still there making wonderful wines today. The 2024 Calon defies the vintage with a depth and textural quality that suggests a riper, warmer vintage. This is juicy and silky, with wonderfully aromatic fruit – we were impressed. We also rather liked the excellent second wine Marquis de Calon and the separate Ch. Capbern, both very successful in their own rights and the latter perpetually good value.

“The 2024 Calon-Ségur is a terrific effort. A blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon (picked late, between October 2 and October 9), 9% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, it unwinds in the glass with notes of plums, cassis and iris mingled with hints of burning embers and incense. Medium to full-bodied, supple and layered, it's suave and seamless, with good depth at the core, powdery tannins and beautifully integrated acids. At pH 3.50 and 13.1% alcohol, it's also one of the most classically proportioned vintages this estate has produced over the last decade.” 93-95/100 – William Kelley, Wine Advocate

“The 2024 Calon Ségur is shaping up very nicely. Dark and ample, with terrific balance, the 2024 is another strong wine from the team led by Technical Director Vincent Millet. Readers will find a Calon Ségur of inner strength, its deceptively mid-weight structure notwithstanding. The 2024 is a wine of restraint and class more than power, never a bad thing at this property. The 100% new oak is very nicely balanced, even in the early going. This has great potential.” 93-95 – Antonio Galloni, Vinous

Over in St Emilion, Aymeric de Gironde’s Troplong Mondot continues to dazzle. Few wines in 2024 can boast this level of ripeness and power, a natural asset of this terroir. All the major critics affirm that this is a splendid wine. However, whilst cheaper than the preceding couple of vintages, it is hard to ignore that there are several older vintages available for quite a bit less.

“The 2024 Troplong Mondot is a beauty, wafting from the glass with aromas of dark berries and licorice mingled with hints of violet and lavender. Medium to full-bodied, dense and deep, it's one of the more layered and muscular wines of the vintage, a quality this terroir seems to invariably deliver, with sweet tannins and lively acids, concluding with a long, expansive finish.” 93-95/100 – William Kelley, Wine Advocate

“The 2024 Troplong Mondot is a total stunner. As has been the case for some years now, the Grand Vin is blended before being barreled down, which means at the time of tasting en primeur, the wine has seen less wood than the vast majority of its peers. That lends this wine a certain raw energy that is impossible to miss. The purity and intensity of the flavors are simply remarkable. Troplong Mondot is one of the standouts of 2024. Even in this vintage, Troplong Mondot possesses remarkable textural presence, but that richness is matched by notable freshness and linear drive. It was deeply impressive on the two occasions I tasted it. Élevage is planned to be 55% in new oak, 26% in 20HL barrels and 19% in once-used barrels.” 95-97/100 – Antonio Galloni, Vinous