Château Troplong-Mondot - Saint Emilion 2020 (750ml)
Price: $134.99
| Producer | Château Troplong-Mondot |
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Subregion | Saint Emilion |
| Varietal | Bordeaux Blend |
| Vintage | 2020 |
| Sku | 5957 |
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Flowers, cherries, plums, licorice and an array of spices greet your nose. The wine is rich, full-bodied, concentrated, seductive and packed from start to finish with layers of crushed rocks, licorice, blackberries, currants and cocoa, ending with light touches of chalk, along with sweet red and black pit fruits that build as they linger. Similar to what I found with the barrel sample, even with all its richness, the wine remains light on its feet with its strong sense of minerality and lift.
James Suckling: 99 Points
This has superb depth and intensity with very fine tannins that draw you down. So much black fruit, together with black pepper and salt. Extremely well crafted. Vertical and deep. Chalky and salty with black chocolate.
Vinous: 98 Points
The 2020 Troplong Mondot is fabulous. Rich, dark, and expansive, the 2020 is wonderfully exuberant right out of the gate. Black cherry, plum, gravel, incense, and licorice are all dialed up. There's tremendous breadth and power, but without the excess weight of the past. Even so, the 2020 is a big, big wine that needs the better part of a decade to soften. All the classic Troplong structure is there, but buffered by vibrant acids and tons of supporting minerality. Harvest started on September 5 and finished October 8, a very wide window for the Right Bank, and a reminder of how different the parcels are. The 2020 was done in 60% new oak, 12% foudres, and 28% once-used barrels.
Jeb Dunnuck: 97 Points
A clear step up over the 2019, the 2020 Château Troplong Mondot is mostly Merlot yet includes 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, all of which was raised in 65% new French oak, with the balance in once-used barrels. The level of purity and finesse here is remarkable, and it reveals a deep ruby/purple hue as well as incredible aromatics of cassis, ripe black cherries, graphite, gunpowder, and spring flowers. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has building, perfectly ripe tannins, flawless balance, and a great finish. Certainly light years away from the riper, more opulent style of the 2000's, the wines today under consultant Thomas Duclos are much more about finesse and elegance. While I certainly miss the sexy, riper style of the past, there is no denying the incredible quality from this château today.
Wine Advocate: 97 Points
The 2020 Troplong Mondot is composed of 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, harvested from 4th September and lasting for about three weeks. The pH is 3.53, the IPT (tannin index) is 75 and the alcohol is 14.5%. Opaque purple-black colored, it opens with a vivacious burst of black fruits—stewed plums, baked blackberries and boysenberries—giving way to a fragrant undercurrent of licorice, ground cloves, cinnamon stick and lilacs, with a touch of bouquet garni. The full-bodied palate is chock-full of plump, juicy black fruits and savory sparks, framed by fantastically ripe, fine-grained tannins and bold freshness, finishing long and opulent.
Wine Enthusiast: 97 Points
Rich and powerful, dense and compact, with a mineral edge, this is a ripe wine with layers of dark tannins. It does have fresh acidity to balance the black currant fruits. Tannins burst through the fruit, offering a huge long-term structure. An impressive wine.
Decanter: 93 Points
This sets out its stall as a wine from a specific plot of pure limestone soils straight away, and this is a second wine to savour. As with last year, this is a masterclass in the impact of this particular soil type, with a bright violet colour, juicy blueberry fruits and touches of redcurrant. It has a tingling finish with a whoosh of salinity that gives tension and balance.
Wine Spectator: 92 Points
Sleek and fresh, with alluring black cherry and red currant coulis notes lined with a floral hint, ending with a caressing feel. Not big but sneaky long, with a subtle flint echo at the very end. Approachable now too, but will benefit from some cellaring. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2035.
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