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It could be easy, after tasting the monumental 2005, to dismiss the 2006 Troplong Mondot, but don'tbe so foolish. Proprietress Christine Valette has turned out another exceptional performance. Of course, this is not the 2005- a singular vintage that will be difficult to duplicate in a 20-30 year span, but the 2006 Troplong Mondot is an impressive, powerful, broad, surprisingly masculine and deep effort. Its inky/blue/purple color is accompanied by an exceptional bouquet of powdered rock, blackberries, blueberries, spring flowers, and hints of camphor as well as espresso roast. The wine is full-bodied with a layered, multidimensional texture, sensational purity and structure, and elevated levels of tannin, concentration, and richness. Forget it for 7-8 years, and drink it over the following 20-25 years. Drink: 2016 - 2041.
It could be easy, after tasting the monumental 2005, to dismiss the 2006 Troplong Mondot, but don'tbe so foolish. Proprietress Christine Valette has turned out another exceptional performance. Of course, this is not the 2005- a singular vintage that will be difficult to duplicate in a 20-30 year span, but the 2006 Troplong Mondot is an impressive, powerful, broad, surprisingly masculine and deep effort. Its inky/blue/purple color is accompanied by an exceptional bouquet of powdered rock, blackberries, blueberries, spring flowers, and hints of camphor as well as espresso roast. The wine is full-bodied with a layered, multidimensional texture, sensational purity and structure, and elevated levels of tannin, concentration, and richness. Forget it for 7-8 years, and drink it over the following 20-25 years. Drink: 2016 - 2041.
The 2006 is a marvelous effort from proprietress Christine Valette. Displaying a saturated blue/purple hue, a beautiful perfume of blackberries, violets, charcoal, and subtle pain grille, upfront fruit, a seamless integration of acidity, tannin, and alcohol, and a multilayered palate, it is not quite as good as the virtually perfect 2005, but it is an outstanding claret to drink between 2012-2030. This is the first vintage where Madame Valette could label her wine as a St.-Emilion premier grand cru classe ... well, we all thought so until the new classification was challenged in court by several mediocre St.-Emilion estates that were justifiably demoted. Thus, for now, a Bordeaux judge has "suspended" the new hierarchy. Drink: 2012 - 2030.
Very dark. Not much nose except for a strange vanillin note some unusual oak? Fresh crunchy fruit on the front palate and then pretty chewy, drying tannins afterwards. Not a very comfortable whole as it's difficult to see the real fruit weight in the middle but it's certainly intense. Veryslightly exaggerated perhaps but there is also freshness on the finish too so the whole package is fine just slightly lacking juiciness on the mid palate.
South of Pomerol lies the medieval, perched village of St Emilion. Surrounding St Emilion are vines that produce round, rich and often hedonistic wines. Despite a myriad of soil types, two main ones dominate - the gravelly, limestone slopes that delve down to the valley from the plateau and the valley itself which is comprised of limestone, gravel, clay and sand. Despite St Emilion's popularity today, it was not until the 1980s to early 1990s that attention was brought to this region. Robert Parker, the famous wine critic, began reviewing their Merlot-dominated wines and giving them hefty scores. The rest is history as they say. Similar to the Médoc, there is a classification system in place which dates from 1955 and outlines several levels of quality. These include its regional appellation of St Emilion, St Emilion Grand Cru, St Emilion Grand Cru Classé and St Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé, which is further divided into "A" (Ausone and Cheval Blanc) and "B" (including Angélus, Canon, Figeac and a handful of others). To ensure better accuracy, the classification is redone every 10 years enabling certain châteaux to be upgraded or downgraded depending on on the quality of their more recent vintages.
