Château Troplong Mondot, 2024

"The 2024 Troplong Mondot is a total stunner. As has been the case for some years now, the Grand Vin is blended before being barreled down, which means at the time of tasting en primeur, the wine has seen less wood than the vast majority of its peers. That lends this wine a certain raw energy that is impossible to miss. The purity and intensity of the flavors are simply remarkable. Troplong Mondot is one of the standouts of 2024. Even in this vintage, Troplong Mondot possesses remarkable textural presence, but that richness is matched by notable freshness and linear drive. It was deeply impressive on the two occasions I tasted it. Élevage is planned to be 55% in new oak, 26% in 20HL barrels and 19% in once-used barrels."

"(Saint-Émilion; 85% Merlot; 13% Cabernet Sauvignon; 2% Cabernet Franc; a final yield of 35 hl/ha after very strict densimetric sorting [the vineyard was picked at around 45 hl/ha]; botrytis was the major issue not mildew or uneven floraison; pH 3.38; 13.5% alcohol; 55% new oak and with more foudres replacing the second-fill barrels; tasted with Aymeric de Gironde at the property). This is incredibly impressive and really shows the value of limestone terroirs in a vintage like this. A little introspective at first. Dark fruits of the forest with a certain creaminess, a little black cherry (darker than Mondot), brambles, mulberries and black raspberry. All very pure and pixilated in their detail. One of the most concentrated and compact wines of the vintages with a density in the mid-palate that is very rare. Just a little black currant and that leafiness with aeration, above in the mouth. Crystalline in texture but, unlike many of its peers, this is velvet, not the light silk or cashmere of, say, Clos Fourtet or Beau-Séjour Bécot. One of the greatest successes in a tricky vintage. I love the dark-fruited blackhole core around which the fresh juiciness circulates, releasing eddies and ripples of freshness. Vibrant and energetic. Vivacious. This grows in the glass with more and more black cherry fruit and more and more graphite to accompany it. Big, bold, plump and plush but never austere and not at all over-loaded. This remains wonderfully delineated and with great precision and clarity sustained all the way to the asymptotic finish."

"This has the Troplong terroir and intensity visually, immediately clear, with violets, squid ink, slate, roses, liquorice root. Love the chalky oyster shell salinity on the finish, delivers exceptional balance and lift, with interesting texture that is grippy with pumice stone tannins. No chaptilisation, because this is a location with natural density and you really see it here. Brilliantly silky, this has depth and yet is savoury, touch of whole cluster winemaking. 55% new oak, with 19% oak casks and the rest one year old."