Château Troplong Mondot vertical 1989-2001 with Mme. Valette

I attended this vertical tasting of one of may favourite St. Emilions a few days ago at Handford's. Madame Christine Valette, the charming proprietor of the chateau, presented the wines and provided her honest and interesting account of the development of the property and the wines since she took over management in 1981. Through much of the 80's, they experimented with various methods to get the wine right, which they did in 1989 (see below). That is why the wine is not very consistent throughout the 1980s.

The chateau is one of the largest in St. Emilion, with 32 hectares of vineyards, situated on a plateau of limestone (similar soil to Ausone, and the three Pavie's). Because the soil is fairly cold, they wait as long as possible and pick the grapes late (usually in October). The cepage is typically 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc. This may vary a little but always at least 80% Merlot. The wine is typically treated with no more than 60% new oak, with a couple of exception noted below.

• 2001 Château Troplong Mondot 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Opaque and purple. Very primary nose of raspberry and mulberry fruit. Very tannic but with substantial body and backbone. Well structure, but still harsh and a bit rustic. Will improve, but very good.

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• 2000 Château Troplong Mondot 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Dark purple-ruby. This wine is starting to shut down, the nose being muted but still giving off some berries and plums. Immensely tannic and dense, with a great minerality and medium-long finish. Promises to develop into something great.

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• 1999 Château Troplong Mondot 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Purple-ruby colour. This wine is completely shut down at the moment. Nothing much on the nose (secondary aromas of chocolate developed after some time). On the palate the fruit is very subdued, masked by broad tannins. Short finish.

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• 1998 Château Troplong Mondot 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Dark purple-ruby. This wine is going through a closed phase right now, but hiding great concentration and depth. Not much on the nose, but palate is only starting to evolve with hints of chocolate and mocha. Long finish. This has great potential.

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• 1997 Château Troplong Mondot 89 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Floral nose with some red berries, less concentration that other vintages of this wine (96, 98) but still quite tannic. This is beginning to open up, a very pleasant wine but lacks the structure and concentration of other vintages. Drink over the next 4-5 years.

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• 1996 Château Troplong Mondot 92 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Dark ruby with some purple, no thinning at the edges. Mocha, black cherries and hints of vanilla, cloves. A tannic monster, this is no where near ready. Long finish. Give it another 6-8 years and it will be great.

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• 1995 Château Troplong Mondot 88 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  This is the only Troplong-Mondot in the line-up that had pronounced oak on the nose and palate. Indeed, it received 100% new oak treatment (unlike the usual 60% for this chateau in the 90s), which IMO ruined it. Noticeably heavier than it should be, and lacking some of that wonderful minerality that other T-M have. Still a pleasant drink but with so many other better vintages to choose from, why bother?

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• 1994 Château Troplong Mondot 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  Great nose of exostic flowers (lotus?) and blackberries. Still tannic, but the tannins are round and complement the velvety feel of the wine nicely - this is drinking very well now.

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• 1990 Château Troplong Mondot 87 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  The 1990 has an interesting story behind it (as told by Mme Christine Valette the proprietor). Following the immense success of the 1989 vintage, her consultant the venerable Michel Rolland suggested doing something different for this vintage - namely, to green harvest 50% of the bunches! Following a very hot end of summer (which was perhaps not expected?) yields were only 20HL/Hectare. The result? Well, I didn't like it at all, especially when compared to the stupendous 1989.
  The nose is weird - smells of dough mostly. Very little fruit coming through. On the palate you get prunes, raisings and still some of that famous minerality, but the wines tastes very old and Port-like (though the alcohol is not overly noticeable). I can see why some people would like this wine, but I didn't. Regardless, it is definitely not typical of this property.

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• 1989 Château Troplong Mondot 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru

  A famously hot vintage resulted in good ripening of the Merlot, which is not guaranteed on the cold limestone soil of T-M. Yields were 50 Hl/Hectare, which isn't terribly low, yet the results are spectacular. Beautiful nose of raspberries, mocha, chalky minerals. The palate is pure velvet with smooth but gripping tannins, still tasting fresh. This wine is at peak but will remain there for another decade. A wine of magnificent balance, richness and length - stupendous!

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It was a very enjoyable and informative tasting. The wines showed a consistency in style - exceptions being 1990 and 1995 where more interventionist techniques ruined it (for me...) - but overall a vibrant, velvety and long-lasting wine, expressing its terroir with a mineral backbone and grape-skin tannins that show in all wines, and an adundance of fruit and natural concentration that together give it, when ready, a velvety texture and great length.

Regarding the 2002 and 2003 vintages, Mme Valette commented that 2003 is a top vintage, with low yields and is a "vin de guarde". The 2002 is more like the 1999 and will start its drinking window in 4-5 years.