2003 Troplong Mondot

Wine Details
Place of Origin

France

Saint Émilion 1er Grand Cru Classé

Bordeaux

Color

Red

Grape/Blend

Merlot

Reviews & Tasting Notes

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This is the most spectacular young vintage of Troplong-Mondot I've tasted to date. Cellarmaster Jean-Pierre Taleyson, who started working here in 1985, calls it the best in 30 years. The indice de polyphenols totaux is a lofty 85, which Taleyson says is due to "the great material and to the tiny cluster size of the merlot in 2005-half as big as usual." The alcohol of this monster is close to 15% but the impression is of vibrant, explosive fruit. "When [consulting winemaker] Michel Rolland tasted this wine, he said it didn't need anything," Taleyson summarized. Some early tasters have compared the young 2005 to the 1990 Troplong-Mondot, but the new vintage has brighter acidity and a lower pH.

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Although the 2004 and 2003 growing seasons were vastly different in character, both favored Troplong-Mondot's cold, late-ripening soils. Proprietor Christine Valette describes the young 2004 as a classic, but admits that there were a lot of grapes in 2004, with a yield of 40 hectoliters per hectare that was almost exactly twice as high as the previous year. A moderate saignee was used to concentrate the must, but a "normal extraction without excess" was done to preserve fruit and elegance. "Our intention has been to make something that's agreeable to drink, not an immense vin de garde," explained Valette.

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Christine Valette described the September 25 start to Troplong-Mondot's 2002 harvest as early-and then came 2003, when the chateau began picking its grapes two weeks earlier, even on these late-ripening, cold soils. The yield was in the tiny 20 hectoliters-per-hectare range, and there will be almost no second wine in 2003 because of the consistently high quality of the fruit, according to Valette. This is an extremely ripe, almost exotic 2003 in the making that is likely to be a crowd-pleaser. I have the impression that extraction during vinification has been a bit more gentle here in recent years, and this is all to the good.