Winemaker Notes
The quality of La Mondotte's clay and the age of the vines (60 years on average) result in a wine that is profoundly marked by its terroir. It is silky, powerful, incomparably elegant, and has great minerality.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Blackberry, plum, mushroom and wood undertones. It’s full-bodied with firm, ripe tannins. Savory and fleshy texture on the palate. Well balanced. Flavorful finish with length. Such polish and composure for a young wine. So classy! Try after 2026.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 La Mondotte strolls nonchalantly out of the glass with expressive scents of plum preserves, blueberry compote and chocolate-covered cherries, followed by suggestions of candied violets, licorice, hoisin and black truffles with a waft of ground cloves. It's medium to full-bodied with seriously impressive tension and wonderfully ripe, velvety tannin's supporting the generous black fruit preserves layers, finishing with amazing length and loads of panache. It will require a good 4-5 years to unlock some of its finer nuances, then drink this powerhouse over the next 25+ years. Rating : 97+
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from a cool terroir situated near Pavie Decesse and based on 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 La Mondotte reveals a dense purple hue to go with a rich, yet classic, regal, full-bodied style delivering impressive blue fruits, graphite, scorched earth, and liquid violet aromas and flavors. It's concentrated and powerful, yet it's the balance, purity of fruit, and quality of tannin's that set it apart. Do your best to hide bottles for 5-7 years, and it's going to evolve for 30+.
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Wine Spectator
This packs in some solid plum sauce, cassis and cherry reduction aromas and flavors, which hold sway throughout while hints of roasted alder, sweet tobacco and ganache fill in. Lovely, buried minerality keeps it all well-supported throughout. Built for the cellar. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2024 through 2038.
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Decanter
Concentrated, as this wine often is, with a silky texture and rich damson fruits, layered deeply with liquorice and chocolate. The Neipperg polish is on display in abundance. This is serious, poised and impressive. A good decade needed here before opening. Certified organic. Drinking Window 2028 - 2042
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.