Troplong Mondot A Taste Of History 1988-1999-2005-2009-2010-2016

Wine Advocate 90: A beauty that has reached full maturity, this elegant wine has notes of tapenade, plums, black cherries, vanilla, and smoke, followed by medium-bodied, sweet, expansive flavors that show beautifully integrated tannin and acidity.

Vinous 90: The 1988 Troplong Mondot is a vintage that I have not tasted for many many years, i.e never. It has quite a deep colour. It has a very pleasant bouquet, maybe a little gentle after 30 years, brambly blackberry and bilberry fruit, quite precise, hints of black truffle developing with time. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly rustic tannin, almost Left Bank in terms of structure with a fresh, graphite tinged finish. There is something just very “honest” about this 1988 Saint-Émilion.

Wine Advocate 89: Elegant vanillin, black cherry, and smoky notes emerge from this textured, medium-bodied 1999. It has a dense ruby/purple color as well as an enormous, concentrated, finesse-styled personality. It is not a blockbuster, but it is a beautifully symmetrical, pure, ripe, well-balanced Troplong Mondot that will benefit from two years of cellaring and age gracefully for 14-15 years.

Vinous 91: The 1998 Troplong Mondot has an opulent, quite lactic bouquet with dark chocolate and mocha-tinged bouquet, missing the definition of the 1988 by comparison. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly chewy tannin, fully mature with tobacco-tinged dark berry fruit. In common with the 1988 there is a Left Bank element to this wine, but it is just missing some definition and precision towards the finish. Not bad, but I think it reflects more the winemaking style in vogue at the time rather than the terroir. Tasted at the château.

Wine Advocate 100: The 2005 Troplong Mondot is a blend of 90% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc. It was emotional tasting this wine, thinking of the late Christine Valette, who made this compelling wine while battling with considerable courage against an insidious disease. It is a great effort and a superstar of the vintage. Dense purple, it offers notes of white chocolate, blackberry, cassis and licorice as well as a hint of truffle and some subtle background oak. Full-bodied, multi-layered, and spectacularly pure and rich, it is a tour de force, and a great tribute to an incredible woman. Remarkably youthful, this wine probably needs another 4-8 years of bottle age, and should keep for 20 or more years. Kudos to the late Christine Valette!

Vinous 98: The 2005 Troplong Mondot is simply magnificent. Rich, opulent and beautifully layered in the glass, the 2005 is another wine that takes hold of all the senses with its engaging personality and sheer sensory overload. Black fruit, mocha, bittersweet chocolate, new leather and spices flesh out in a captivating, riveting wine that shows the modern style of Bordeaux at its very best. This is a pure pleasure bomb.

Wine Advocate 96: Deep garnet colored, the 2009 Troplong Mondot bounds out of the glass with plum preserves, spice cake, mincemeat and potpourri scents plus suggestions of exotic spices, incense and a waft of balsamic. Full-bodied, super rich, concentrated and plushly textured, the hedonic fruit possesses loads of spicy layers and a very long and decadent finish. If you love wines you can stand a spoon up in, you're gonna go nuts over this extravagant beauty.

James Suckling 96: Although this is very ripe and rich with a generous body and a slew of black fruit aromas it’s also elegant and poised. The bitter chocolate character is more restrained than in many modern-style Right Bank wines of this period and there's a lovely balance of lively acidity with fine dry tannins at the complex finish. Drink or hold.

Wine Enthusiast 97: A very concentrated wine with such a stylish feel. It balances ripe berry fruits with chocolate and wood flavors in the richest, ripest combination. The wine has power, without losing its poised character. It's ready for long aging.

Wine Advocate 98: Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Troplong Mondot explodes with beautiful floral notes of red roses and candied violets over a core of plum preserves, kirsch and blueberry pie with a waft of bouquet garni. Full-bodied, rich and decadently fruited, it has bags of plush tannins and just enough freshness, finishing very long and sinfully hedonic.

James Suckling 94: Very intense blackberry and blueberry character on the nose. Full body with super refined tannins and beautiful fruit. So delicious and pretty. Very rich and a little high-octane. Yet luscious and flamboyant.

Decanter 92: One of the wines that I was most excited about retasting, just to check in on how this older style of Troplong has aged. The fruit factor here centres on fig and prunes, it is impressive, broad shouldered, concentrated and full of exotic spicing. No one would say this won't make an impression on a table, but you feel the manipulation, it is far from effortless. Higher alcohol evident, in a way that is rare in this vintage that has everything turned up to the max, and frankly 16%abv is extremely hard to reconcile with the balance that most people look for in Bordeaux.

Wine Advocate 95+: Aged in 77% new and 23% one-year-old French oak barrels and composed of 89% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Troplong Mondot has a deep garnet-purple color and comes bursting out of the glass with bold preserved plums, Black Forest cake and Indian spices scents plus suggestions of espresso, black olives, cigar box and tilled soil. Full-bodied, rich, plushly textured and oh-so-decadent, it packs in the spiced black fruit layers and finishes with fantastic persistence.

James Suckling 96: Love the aromas of redcurrants and cherries with flowers. Full body and tight, finely chewy tannins that impress. Linear and focused young red.

Decanter 92: Ripe, heady, full and rich with Christmas cake and nutty caramel on the nose. Delicate blue fruits, blackcurrant with textured, chalky, grippy tannins. Concentrated and juicy with a weighty mouthfeel, warm spice lingers on the finish. This wine will only improve with time.