2011 Château Troplong Mondot, St Emilion, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
Christine Valette has turned in another impressive performance, although despite its obvious success, the 2011 will never be compared with what she achieved in the three previous vintages, 2008, 2009 and 2010, not to mention the monumental 2005. Yields were 41 hectoliters per hectare, and the final blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc hit 14.5% natural alcohol.
(Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - April 2012)
Wine Spectator's 2011 Top-Scoring Red Bordeaux
(James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, April 5, 2012)
Christine Valette has turned in another impressive performance, although despite its obvious success, the 2011 will never be compared with what she achieved in the three previous vintages, 2008, 2009 and 2010, not to mention the monumental 2005. Yields were 41 hectoliters per hectare, and the final blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc hit 14.5% natural alcohol.
(Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - April 2012)
(4/5 Stars -Decanter – Bordeaux 2011 coverage – April 2012)
About this WINE
Château Troplong Mondot
Château Troplong Mondot is a St. Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé property that has in the last decade been producing wines that are the equal of many 1er Grand Cru Classé estates. Its handsome château dates back to 1745 and Troplong-Mondot was originally part of one sizeable domaine which included the vineyards of Château Pavie. It became autonomous in 1850 when it was acquired by Raymond Troplong. Later on, it was bought by Alexandre Valette and today it is owned and run by his great-granddaughter, Christine and her husband Xavier Pariente.
Troplong Mondot has 30 hectares of vineyards well-sited alongside the hill of Mondot to the north-east of the St-Emilion appellation. The soils are rich in limestone clay and are planted with Merlot (90%), Cabernet Franc (5%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (5%). The grapes are hand-harvested and then fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless steel tanks. The wine is then aged in oak barriques (75% new) for 18 months. It is bottled unfiltered.
Guru oenologist Michel Rolland has been a consultant at Troplong Mondot since the mid 1980s.
St Émilion
St Émilion is one of Bordeaux's largest producing appellations, producing more wine than Listrac, Moulis, St Estèphe, Pauillac, St Julien and Margaux put together. St Emilion has been producing wine for longer than the Médoc but its lack of accessibility to Bordeaux's port and market-restricted exports to mainland Europe meant the region initially did not enjoy the commercial success that funded the great châteaux of the Left Bank.
St Émilion itself is the prettiest of Bordeaux's wine towns, perched on top of the steep limestone slopes upon which many of the region's finest vineyards are situated. However, more than half of the appellation's vineyards lie on the plain between the town and the Dordogne River on sandy, alluvial soils with a sprinkling of gravel.
Further diversity is added by a small, complex gravel bed to the north-east of the region on the border with Pomerol. Atypically for St Émilion, this allows Cabernet Franc and, to a lesser extent, Cabernet Sauvignon to prosper and defines the personality of the great wines such as Ch. Cheval Blanc.
In the early 1990s there was an explosion of experimentation and evolution, leading to the rise of the garagistes, producers of deeply-concentrated wines made in very small quantities and offered at high prices. The appellation is also surrounded by four satellite appellations, Montagne, Lussac, Puisseguin and St. Georges, which enjoy a family similarity but not the complexity of the best wines.
St Émilion was first officially classified in 1954, and is the most meritocratic classification system in Bordeaux, as it is regularly amended. The most recent revision of the classification was in 2012
Merlot
The most widely planted grape in Bordeaux and a grape that has been on a relentless expansion drive throughout the world in the last decade. Merlot is adaptable to most soils and is relatively simple to cultivate. It is a vigorous naturally high yielding grape that requires savage pruning - over-cropped Merlot-based wines are dilute and bland. It is also vital to pick at optimum ripeness as Merlot can quickly lose its varietal characteristics if harvested overripe.
In St.Emilion and Pomerol it withstands the moist clay rich soils far better than Cabernet grapes, and at it best produces opulently rich, plummy clarets with succulent fruitcake-like nuances. Le Pin, Pétrus and Clinet are examples of hedonistically rich Merlot wines at their very best. It also plays a key supporting role in filling out the middle palate of the Cabernet-dominated wines of the Médoc and Graves.
Merlot is now grown in virtually all wine growing countries and is particularly successful in California, Chile and Northern Italy.
Buying options
Add to wishlist
Description
The wine boasts a dense blue/purple color as well as aromas of black raspberries, blackberries, acacia flowers, espresso, toasty oak, and a sweet, mossy, foresty character that ranges from an autumnal, vegetative smell to minerality. Opulent, dense and strikingly rich and extracted with moderately high tannins, this is one of the bigger, richer wines of the vintage. Give it 4-5 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 20-25.
Christine Valette has turned in another impressive performance, although despite its obvious success, the 2011 will never be compared with what she achieved in the three previous vintages, 2008, 2009 and 2010, not to mention the monumental 2005. Yields were 41 hectoliters per hectare, and the final blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc hit 14.5% natural alcohol.
(Robert Parker - Wine Advocate - April 2012)
wine at a glance
Delivery and quality guarantee