wine details
reviews
James Suckling 97-98/100The focus to this wine sets a new standard for Troplong Mondot with density and minerality that I have not encountered for decades. Lots of slate and white-pepper character. Tight and very dense. Full body. Balanced. Wild mineral character and freshness here. Precise.
Jancis Robinson 17.5/20
85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc. pH 3.56. Barrel sample. Glowing purple rim with black core, so glossy. Colour stands out for its incredible brightness – technical director (since Sept 2017) Aymeric de Gironde says this is to do with low sulphur additions. Darker fruited and still a touch floral on the nose. Some stony/mineral notes. Very fine texture, really pure black fruit, chalky (limestone-derived) texture. Great finesse and juicy freshness. Intense fruit but full of energy and brightness. Tight, so much tension from that early harvest even though the fruit is perfectly ripe. Dry finesse and fresh persistence. I think you could enjoy this younger than many wines in this vintage. (JH) 14.53% Drink 2023-2038
Parker 93-95+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown. The 2018 Troplong Mondot is blended of 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, with 14.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.56. Deep garnet-purple in color, it begins slowly with bold, bright black raspberries, ripe black plums, fresh blackberries and Morello cherries notes, giving way to underlying scents of tobacco, wild sage, Sichuan pepper, black olives, truffles and Marmite toast with hints of crushed stones and iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, the palate offers wonderfully fresh, energetic black fruit with a downright racy line of freshness (uncommon for this vintage) and firm, rounded tannins, finishing long with lots of mineral, earth and dried herbs layers giving beautiful electric sparks.
Decanter 97/100
One of the stories of the 2018 vintage in Bordeaux was Troplong Mondot bringing in its first grapes on 7 September. Proof, many suggested, of director Aymeric de Gironde going too far in his quest to rewrite Troplong's powerful style. It certainly made me excited to try this wine, and I hope the sceptics were too, because this is a brilliant Troplong. Oh, and although around 80% of the grapes did come in during those first 10 days, the final harvest date was 10 October. There's clear depth just in the colour alone, and impressive complexity on the nose. There's still a whole lot of Troplong strength and concentration here, you can't get away from that with these clay and flint over limestone soils, but now it is softer, with more minerality. The relatively high alcohols are apparent in the texture but not as heat. I love the persistency here, as it drags things out in the most delicious of ways, with a slate and white pepper finish. Of the new vineyards bought (4ha from Clos Labarde and 6ha from Bellisle Mondotte), everything is in the second wine this year. The château will probably ask for some sections to be included in the grand vin in the next classification in 2022. 3.56pH. Thomas Duclos consults. Drinking Window 2027 - 2042