Troplong Mondot - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2005

Vinous

97 / 100

par Antonio Galloni le 15/04/2021

The 2005 Troplong Mondot is a heady, sumptuous beauty. Sweet black cherry, plum, chocolate, spice, new leather, licorice and menthol all open in the glass. Hedonistic and opulent to the core, the 2005 is a decidedly exuberant Saint-Émilion. I would open it a few hours in advance, as aeration helps soften some of the initial flamboyance. The 2005 is a gorgeous, captivating wine. It is modern Saint-Émilion at its finest. Moreover, it does not appear to have lost much, if anything, since the last time I tasted it a few years ago!

Vinous

98 / 100

par Antonio Galloni le 15/11/2015

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.Drink 2015 - 2035.

Wine Advocate

100 / 100

par Robert Parker le 30/06/2015

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!

La Revue du Vin de France

17 / 20

le 20/10/2014

Ramassé et puissant, sur les extraits secs, ce vin aujourd'hui austère, tannique, assèche à ce stade tout en étant d'une rare persistance. A oublier au moins cinq ans. Il s'épurera dans un style très automnal.

Wine Advocate

93 / 100

par Neal Martin le 17/06/2009

Tasted single blind at Southwold. A ‘monster’ Troplong. The nose is tightly coiled with blackberry, black cherries, massive extraction with some raisin notes coming through. The palate is forceful, very tannic, powerful but with a touch of dryness. Robust tannins, some spicy Cabernet Franc here. It has the structure of a young Château Lafleur. This Saint Emilion packs a punch, but brutal at the moment. Drink 2025-2050. Tasted January 2009. 93+

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

96 / 100

par Stephen Tanzer le 30/06/2008

Full ruby-red. Spectacularly ripe nose offers plum jam, minerals, licorice, mocha and a whiff of game, all lifted by exotic flowers. Explosively ripe and sweet in the mouth, with uncanny fullness and depth to the flavors of raspberry, smoke and milk chocolate. A blockbuster of a wine with a three-dimensional texture and outstanding weight but with almost magically ripe acidity giving great precision to the flavors and drawing out the finish. Incredible melting tannins saturate the palate and front teeth. Wonderfully suave wine, the best I've ever tasted from this chateau.

Wine Advocate

99 / 100

par Robert Parker le 07/05/2008

This estate was justifiably elevated to a Premier Grand Cru Classe in the new St.-Emilion classification thanks to the exceptional efforts of proprietress Christine Valette over the last two decades. The 2005 is one of the monumental wines of the vintage, and may eclipse their prodigious 1990. Inky/blue/purple-colored with an exceptional bouquet of Asian spices, blueberries, blackberries, truffles, cold steel, graphite, and charcoal, it hits the palate with exceptional purity, laser-like precision, a compellingly concentrated, multilayered mouthfeel, a broad, savory texture, terrific acidity, and substantial, but sweet tannins. It lives up to everything it revealed in barrel, and appears set to live for a half century or more. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2050.

Wine Spectator

96 / 100

par James Suckling le 22/02/2008

Wine Advocate

96-100 / 100

par Robert Parker le 04/05/2007

A blockbuster effort from proprietress Christine Valette (who also deserves congratulations for Troplong Mondot’s ascent to a St.-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe, currently suspended pending litigation), this full-bodied, multi-tiered 2005 continues to confirm its extraordinary dimensions and quality. It is unquestionably the finest vintage for Troplong since 1990. A modern day legend, it exhibits a black/blue color as well as aromas and flavors of graphite, blueberries, black truffles, incense, and camphor. The sensational sweetness and layers of fruit are buttressed by high tannin, good acidity, and unbelievable precision and purity. This profoundly concentrated, full-bodied tour de force in winemaking is Madame Valette’s crowning achievement, and it will be talked about for decades to come. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2040.

Wine Advocate

96-100 / 100

par Robert Parker le 01/05/2006

A blockbuster, extraordinarily profound effort from proprietor Christine Valette, the 2005 Troplong Mondot is the finest wine she has made since the other-worldly 1990. It dense black color is followed by a stupendous bouquet of blueberries, blackberries, truffles, graphite, and smoke. It cascades over the palate with exquisite density, purity, full-bodied power, and remarkable freshness as well as delineation. This magical wine somehow manages to harness extraordinary power and structure with a sense of delicacy and finesse. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2025+.

Wine Spectator

92-94 / 100

par James Suckling le 30/03/2006

Aromas of blackberry, toasted oak and vanilla. Full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a flavorful finish. So velvety. Seductive. —J.S.