Chateau Troplong Mondot 2013

In the 17th century, a representative of a prestigious noble family, Abbot Raymond de Sèze, who was a personal lawyer to Louis XVI, built the Mondot castle in Saint-Émilion, which has retained its appearance to this day. Beautiful vineyards were planted around the castle. Under the guidance of the abbot, magnificent wines were produced here, which gained the status of some of the best wines of Saint-Émilion. In this form, a hundred years later, in 1850, it was acquired by Raymond Troplong, a well-known lawyer, art lover, and literature enthusiast, who served as Chairman of the Senate from 1852 to 1869. Despite his public duties, Troplong devoted much time to viticulture and winemaking. He expanded the vineyard area to 33 hectares, and the wines he created ranked second among the wines of Saint-Émilion in the official classification "Annuaire des Chateaux de Feret" of 1868. After Raymond Troplong's death in 1869, the estate passed to his nephew Édouard Troplong, who added his surname to the name "Mondot". In the early 20th century, the Chateau was sold to the Valette family. The head of the family, Alexandre Valette, a Parisian wine merchant, already owned Chateau la France in Fronsac and soon acquired Chateau Pavie. In 1980, the management of the Chateau was taken over by Alexandre's eldest daughter, Christine, who, along with her husband, tirelessly improved the vineyard, cellars, and castle. This hard work and their incredible efforts were duly recognized when in 2006, Chateau Troplong Mondot was awarded the status of Premier Grand Cru Classé. The vineyards of the Chateau are located in the southeastern part of the plateau, on a steep slope, and extend south to the border with the Pomerol area. This exposure is very good and has ideal conditions for natural drainage. The soils of the vineyards consist of a thick layer of limestone under dense clay, and abundant underground waters fully saturate the old vines — on average, 35 years old, but there are also 90-year-old vines — of Grand Cru. The soils are also rich in sedimentary fragments of silica and limestone, which give the wines of the Chateau their magnificent color and excellent concentration of taste and aroma. The vineyards are planted with international varieties: Merlot (90%), Cabernet Franc (5%), and Cabernet Sauvignon (5%). Traditional viticulture methods are combined with modern, environmentally friendly practices, with work carried out without the use of herbicides, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides. The harvest is done only by hand.