Château Troplong Mondot
The Château Troplong Mondot is one of the leading wineries in the French commune of Saint-Émilion in the Bordeaux region . In the hierarchy of red wines from Saint-Émilion, it has belonged to the second highest level since 2006 as "Premier Grand Cru Classé B" (see also Bordeaux classification ).
Location, soil and vine culture
The château is located in the middle of its vineyards on the limestone plateau near the highest point of the appellation northeast of the town of Saint-Émilion. Immediately below is the slope called "Côte" with the Château Pavie . The 33 hectares of vineyards lie on a limestone plinth covered by a layer of clay . The location not only has an advantageous orientation to the south, but also very good natural drainage .
The soil type is particularly suitable for the Merlot grape variety , which now makes up 90% of the tillers. Half of the rest is made up of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc . In the mid-1980s, the tillering was still 65% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% each of Cabernet Franc and Malbec . The planting density is 5,600 vines per hectare, the youngest vineyards even have 6,600 vines per hectare. The average age of the vines is 35 years. Chemical plant protection is avoided whenever possible, only minimally fertilized. The yield is strictly limited - the average over the last few years has only been 34 hl / ha. A strict cut and a “green harvest” in July contribute to this. Just like in the vinification, the handwriting of the consulting oenologist Michel Rolland is evident here .
The wine
The harvest is done by hand. Damaged grapes are sorted out before pressing, the grapes are completely destemmed. Before fermentation , the berries are macerated for up to a week. The fermentation takes place in small stainless steel tanks, the mash fermentation takes four to five weeks. The malolactic fermentation takes place mainly in oak barrels , three quarters of which are renewed annually. Depending on the vintage, barrel aging takes between 12 and 24 months. After the assemblage , the wine is sometimes refined with egg white and filtered. In addition to an average of 120,000 bottles of “Grand Vin”, a second wine called “Mondot” is produced, which contains a higher proportion of Cabernet.
The Troplong-Mondot wine is highly concentrated, with complex aromas and very persistent. Still characterized by barriques in its youth, it needs four to five years of bottle aging until the characteristics of a great Saint-Émilion emerge. He then continues to expand in the cellar for 10–20 years. Great vintages of recent times are 2005, 2001, 2000 and 1995th
history
The history of the estate is closely linked to that of the neighboring Château Pavie. In the 18th century the vineyards of both estates belonged to the Abbé Raymond de Sèze, who also had the current manor house built. His brother was the defender of Louis XVI from 1792–93 . before the French National Convention . In 1830 the family sold to Gérus Troplong. In 1850 it was inherited by Raymond Troplong , then Peer of France and later President of the Supreme Court. In 1852 he was appointed President of the French Senate . He increased the area under vines to 33 hectares and brought the "Mondot" called estate to the top of Saint-Emilion in terms of quality until his death in 1869. He was friends with the writer Théophile Gautier , who visited the estate several times. The name "Troplong-Mondot" can only be traced back to his nephew Édouard. It was bought by the Belgian wine merchant Georges Thienpont in 1921, who three years later also bought the Vieux Château Certan in Pomerol . In 1936 he separated from Troplong-Mondot. The buyer was the wine merchant Alexandre Valette from Saint-Ouen near Paris. In 1943 he also acquired Château Pavie, which reunited both goods in one hand. In 1967 there was an inheritance division, and since 1981 Troplong-Mondot has belonged to his great-granddaughter Christine Valette. She gave up her job as a journalist and has since devoted herself entirely to her winery. With the advice of the oenologist Michel Rolland, she managed to bring the estate back into the top group of the appellation. The 2006 revision of the classification of Saint-Émilion (which was legally blocked until 2007) brought Troplong-Mondot to the class of "Premiers Grands Crus Classés".
literature
- Pierre Casamayor: Troplong Mondot. Au plus haut de Saint-Emilion. In: Revue du Vin de France No. 511, May 2007, pp. 92-95.
- James Turnbull: Bordeaux Grandeur Nature . EPA Editions, ISBN 2-85120-512-9 .
- Frédérique Crestin-Billet: The top wines and châteaux of Saint-Émilion . Stürtz Verlag, Würzburg 1990, ISBN 3-8003-0387-6 .