Winemaker Notes
Blend: 84% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
-
Vinous
The 2023 Troplong Mondot is simply stunning. It's one of the best wines yet made under the direction of Aymeric de Gironde. Towering and statuesque, the 2023 explodes out of the glass with tons of vertical energy. Dark red-toned fruit, licorice, spice, lavender, mocha and pencil shavings are some of the many notes that infuse the 2023 with character. The combination of soaring aromatics, chiseled fruit and a limestone-infused finish is nothing less than captivating. What a wine. Aging is in 60% new oak, 22% 20hL foudre and 18% once-used oak. Tasted two times.–Antonio Galloni
Barrel Sample: 95-98 -
Decanter
The aromatics are incredible - so pure, clean and precise - sweet, sour and fresh with clear blue fruits, wax, crayon and pencil led on the nose alongside vanilla, blackcurrant and plum with blueberry too. Supple and agile, a lovely bounce and energy straight away, this has movement and direction. The fruit is pristine, gorgeous succulence and bright berries on the palate before some limestone wet stone elements come in giving a graphite tang. Has that sense of whole bunch fermentation, really racy and so electric. It’s not a 2022, it doesn’t have that velvetines and soft plush tannins that Troplong can do well, but this is extremely good. Straight, juicy, clean, poised, elegant and refined. Not shouting, it’s reserved and calm, but confident. You can taste the chalk on the finish alongside liquorice and graphite. I love the finesse and the terroir markers and in a change to 2021 it has ripeness, succulence and body. 6% press. Three tanks of whole cluster fermentation. 70 IPT. Ageing 14 months, 60% new oak. 3.45pH.
Barrel Sample: 97 -
Jeb Dunnuck
Sporting a vivid purple hue, the 2023 Château Troplong Mondot is based on 84% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc, raised in 50% new French oak with the balance in once-used barrels and foudre. Cassis, spring flowers, crushed stone, and hints of tobacco all define the aromatics, and it has a truly riveting sense of limestone minerality and salinity. Medium-bodied and concentrated, with fine tannins and a great finish, it's a terrific representation of the new (or not so new today) style of this estate.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Bottled in late June 2025, the 2023 Troplong Mondot unwinds in the glass with notes of dark berries, cherries, rich spices, baking chocolate and violets. Medium- to full-bodied, supple and seamless, it's dense, fleshy and suave, with sweet tannins and lively animating acids. A blend of 84% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc, the 2023 has turned out beautifully.
-
James Suckling
Crunchy red fruit with dried flowers and a subtle herbal undertone that emerges with air. Medium-bodied and fluid on the palate, showing fine, precise, chalky tannins and delicate fruit. Pure, approachable merlot, marked by impressive definition. Aged half in wood and half in tank.
-
Wine Spectator
A fresh style, with damson plum and morello cherry coulis notes laced with subtle, chalky minerality, plus savory and cedar nuances. There are dried rose petal echoes on the finish. Shows lovely purity. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.
Premier Grand Cru Classe in Saint-Emilion, Chateau Troplong Mondot stands out with refinement, boasting a strong wine identity, a perfectly-controlled vineyard and an innate sense of welcoming. Located on the highet point of Saint-Emilion's famous limestone plateau, the 43-hectare estate held in one piece stands on some of the most enviable and unique terroirs of the Right Bank, with ideal geological conditions and exposure, The unique diversity of the soils is revealed through balanced wines combining strength and elegance, complexity and precision. Troplong Mondot's history has been enriched with charismatic and cultured figures who have led the estate towards excellence with a different vision. By trusting Aymeric de Gironde for the executive management, the company SCOR bring a fresh boost since 2017 while respecting the values and spirit of the estate.
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.