2021 Chateau Troplong Mondot - St. Emilion Grand Cru Classe

Decanter.com – 96 pts – GH: *Bright purple rim to the wine. So many aromas on the nose, really captivating and full - dark chocolate, pink flowers giving a soft perfume, cinnamon, raspberries, black cherries and liquorice too - all intensifying over twenty minutes in the glass. Super bright and charged on the palate, this is off like a firecracker from the initial impact, giving tangy strawberry, red cherry and raspberry fruit flavours. It's got power no doubt, but a delicate, light style, not so concentrated and intense more lifted and aerial with tension. So much energy here, the flavours come in waves on the palate, red fruits, cooling blue fruits, exotic spices, flowers and fresh minty, stone notes with a real mineral salinity on the finish. It's perhaps not so weighty or full in the mouth like previous more opulent vintages, but there is clarity and definition of elements on show. I love the mineral finish, so Troplong. Extremely refined. First vintage in the new cellar facilities which helped with precision.* - 04/2022

Falstaff Magazin – 94 pts – US: *Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Sehr floral im Duft, würzige Noten von Fenchelpollen, Kirschen in verschieden Reifegraden, kräuterige Aromen. Dichtes, feines, griffiges Tannin, kräftiger, aber gut eingebundener Alkohol, viel Saft und eine enorme taktile Mineralik. Säure und Körper gehen nahtlos ineinander über, der Wein verbindet eine gute Konzentration mit der jahrgangstypischen Eleganz.* - 05/2022

Vinum Magazin – 17,5/20 pts: *Zuerst sehr ausbaugeprägt, dann Noten von Blumen, Kräutern und roten Beeren; besitzt Fülle, Dichte und Tiefe, grosse Rasse und Länge, Tannin von herrlichem, gleichsam pfeffrigem Schliff, grosse Mineralität auch; von ausgesuchter Präzision: gehört zu den besten TM bisher, 18 Punkte in Griffweite!*

WeinWisser – 18,5/20pts – GL, TW: *85 % Merlot, 13 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 2 % Cabernet Franc, 47 hl/ ha, 14.5 vol %, Ausbau : 60 neue Barriques, 13 % Fuder. Delikates Bouquet, Waldhimbeere, rote Johannisbeere, zarter Iris-Duft, heller Tabak. Am komplexen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, reifem fein salzigem Extrakt, balancierter Rasse, engmaschigem Tanningerüst und dem trainierten Körper eines Balletttänzers. Im konzentrierten Finale rotbeerige Konturen, edle Terroirwürze, "pur, präzise und balanciert" mit langem Rückaroma.* – 04/2022

JancisRobinson.com – 17/20pts – JL: *85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc. 47 hl/ha. Cask sample. Deep colour. Floral notes with an attractive density of fruit. Finely structured, velvety tannins providing the framework. Minty freshness as well, the finish chalky. Balanced with all the components in place.* - 04/2022

Vinous.com – (95-97) pts – AG: *The 2021 Troplong Mondot is shockingly raw and untamed, but in the very best sense of those terms. A wine of energy and pure power, the 2021 is going to need a number of years to be at its best, but it is certainly very impressive in the early going. The 2021 clocks in at 13.5%, which has not been seen here since the 1990s. The 2021 is not an easy wine to taste at this stage, as it is not fully formed. I won't be surprised if the 2021 turns out even better than this note suggests. It is a dazzling wine by any measure, and a far cry from the wines of decade ago, when the malolactic fermentations were often not finished when en primeur samples were presented! Superb.* - 04/2022

Vinous.com – (93-95) pts – NM: *Aymeric de Gironde, who without exaggeration has revolutionized this Saint-Émilion estate, told me that in 2021, the Troplong Mondot comes exclusively from the heart of the original vineyard, mainly on molasse soils. It was picked from September 17 to October 18, unusually finishing with the Merlot, and has 13.5% alcohol without any chaptalization or /saignée/. The focused blackberry, raspberry and iris petal scented nose is very delineated, yet more reserved than recent vintages. (A second sample at the château had a little more chutzpah.) The palate is medium-bodied with firm, slightly chalky tannins and a fine bead of acidity that imports liveliness and verticality. This Troplong-Mondot is imbued with a palpably mineral-driven finish. I am full of admiration for this cerebral wine, though I wager that it will need several years in bottle.* - 04/2022

Thewinecellarinsider.com – (94-96) pts – JL: *Deeply colored, the wine is rich, round, lush and fresh. Initially you notice, flowers, chocolate, truffle, espresso, cocoa, and black plums. There is a silkiness to the tannins, sweetness along with freshness on the palate, and a finish with black, blue and dark red fruits with a strong touch of chalk in the finish. The wine blends 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13.5% ABV%, 3.44 pH. The harvest took place September 17 - October 19. The harvest date here was the key to the success of the wine here. Drink from 2025-2055.* - 05/2022