2021 Troplong Mondot

A blend of 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Château Troplong Mondot was raised in 55% new oak, 21% in once-used, and the balance in foudre for 14 months. It's ruby, semi-opaque hue is followed by a beautiful perfume of smoky black raspberries, crunchy cherries, chalky minerality, rose, and spring flowers. It's medium-bodied, has ultra-fine tannins, nicely integrated acidity, and just a pretty, pure, seamless style. It clearly offers pleasure today but should be given 4-5 years, and it will evolve for two decades.

The 2021 Troplong Mondot was bottled in July 2022 after the wines were pulled out of barrel in February as it was felt the wine had received sufficient oak ageing. I tasted two samples, one decanted earlier and one freshly poured. The latter showed more fruité : black cherries, violet, touches of pencil shavings and dried roses, building in intensity with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins, fresh, vibrant and spicy, with an insistent grip and dashes of black pepper and chalk toward the finish. Quite a vertical Troplong Mondot with an almost briny aftertaste, this deserves four or five years in bottle.

The 2021 Troplong Mondot is fabulous. It offers up a rush of dark red-toned fruit, crushed rocks, leather, menthol, cedar and blood orange. As always, Troplong Mondot is marked by a strong presence of Cabernet Sauvignon that seems to add brooding intensity, muscle and power. I tasted it three times. A bottle given a brief decant of about 20 minutes showed best. The 2021 spent 13 months in oak (two months less than normal), in a mix of 60% new, 21% 20-hectoliter cask and 19% once-used. The 2021 is a Troplong Mondot of extreme purity and class.