One of the storied houses on the Right Bank of Bordeaux, Chateau Troplong Mondotte was originally part of the De Sèze estate back in the 18th century. Today the estate is located right next to Chateau Pavie. The property was later acquired by Alexandre Valette in 1936. Famed Napa winemaker Aaron Pott formerly served as winemaker here in 1993 and 1994. Talking about his time in Bordeaux he talked about trails and tribulations about being the only American winemaker in the region. Fortunately his French was very good. The estate encompasses 33 hectares, with a grape variety of 90% Merlot with equal parts Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon blended into their grand vin. Roughly 10,000 cases are made each year of their grand vin, with a smaller amount into their second wine.

Michel Rolland has served as consulting winemaker at this property for many years now. The wines have been consistently great as I fondly recall tasting the beautiful 1998 and 2005 wines that are now really fabulous in their evolution. I recently tasted the 2015 Troplong Mondotte (OB, 97) which has plenty of dense dark fruits but marvelous soil character from this terroir. What a wine! Learn more at https://www.troplong-mondot.com/en/ and here is my review of the incredible 2015 Troplong Mondotte

2015 Chateau Troplong Mondotte- The 2015 Trolong Mondotte is a dense and delicious wine at nearly ten years of age. Once on the nose this takes on baking spices and chocolate cake aromatics that combine with sage and freshly picked blackberries. The palate is dense and chewy with plenty of loamy and rocky soil character. Refined and elegant, this really picked up momentum following a two hour decant. For those who enjoy a wine in its full-throttle youth, this is a joy to consume now after a lot of air. Drink 2025-2050- 97