Winemaker Notes
Blend: 79% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Franc
The Barrel Sample for this wine is above 14% ABV.
*Please note that the price on Wine.com of this 2019 Bordeaux Future does not include any tariffs. As of June 2020, there remains a 25% tariff imposed on French wines at or below 14% Alcohol-by-Volume by the U.S. and approved by the World Trade Organization related to the Airbus/Boeing dispute. We are hopeful that this is a short-term tariff which will not be in place when the wine is ready to be imported into the U.S., as Bordeaux Futures typically ship 2-years after they are offered. Should tariffs still be in effect when the wine is ready to be imported, we will contact affected customers with an update to our plans and timing.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A gorgeous wine, yet one that's going to demand bottle age, the 2019 La Mondotte comes from a tiny vineyard located just beside Pavie Decesse and is always a blend of mostly Merlot with roughly 15-30% Cabernet Franc, brought up in new French oak. Mulled blackcurrants, darker cherries, tobacco leaf, chocolate, lead pencil, and burning ember-like nuances all emerge from this brilliant wine, and it's full-bodied, concentrated, and powerful, with good acidity, building tannins, and a great, great finish. It holds onto the more classic, focused style of the vintage, yet it's a beast of a wine that brings the goods. Hide bottles for a solid 7-8 years or more, count yourself lucky, and it's going to have 30-40 years of longevity.
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James Suckling
This has a fragrant nose of blackberries, red tea, cloves, bark, orange zest and dark chocolate. Sandalwood and tile, too. Full-bodied with chewy yet supple tannins and fresh acidity. Seamless and rich. Long and muscular.
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Wine Spectator
This is a gorgeous display of fruit, with boysenberry, fig and mulberry notes rolling through, showing both muscle and refinement as they carry a punch, while staying silky and lush in feel. There are sweet tobacco, sous bois and black tea flavors peeking in on the finish and this is remarkably fine-grained for the vintage. A clear classic. Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Aromas of smoky blackberries, black truffles, pipe tobacco, loamy soil and rose petals introduce the 2019 La Mondotte, a medium to full-bodied, deep and velvety wine that's lively and gourmand, with a rich core of fruit that's framed by beautifully polished tannins. This Merlot-dominant cuvée derives from vineyards on the plateau neighboring Troplong-Mondot, but the soils are shallower here, without the same reserves of deep clay.
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Decanter
Concentrated big framed fruit flavours; attractive damson and black cherry, lashed in with liquorice, chocolate and black truffle. One of my queries with the Pavie stable is how little vintage variation there is, although this gives them full marks for maintaining signature. No question that this is an impressive wine.
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.