Troplong Mondot 1995 (1.5L)

92 WA / 92 JS / 17 JR

Totally shut down and enclosed, with an impressively saturated purple/black color and a promising but tightly strung nose of mineral, vanilla, espresso, black cherry and currant, this wine has beautiful purity, medium to full body, relatively high but sweet tannin, and a long 30-35 second finish. The wine is very firm but impressive as well as promising. Patience please!-Robert M. Parker, Jr., The Wine Advocate

Clever winemaking. Modern and international in style. Not quite as exciting as I remember, but still outstanding. Inky-colored, with loads of vanilla, spice and meat like aromas. Full-bodied and concentrated, with masses of berry, dark chocolate and vanilla flavors. - JS, Wine Spectator

70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Vines are planted on a clay-limestone plateau at a density of 5,600 vines/ha for old vines, 6,600 vines/ha for young vines. Average vine age is 50 years. Vines were debudded in spring and deleafed and thinned out in July, in order to achieve optimal ripeness of grapes. Manual harvest took place 20 – 25 Sept for Merlot, 2 – 3 Oct for the Cabernets. Traditional vinification in small stainless steel, temperature controlled vats lasting 21 – 28 days with regular pumpovers. 83% of final blend was aged in new oak barrels for 15 months. Winemaker Michel Rolland.
Earthy and rich, but with a certain degree of restraint too. Classic and complex, with a lovely stage of maturity on display, although the tannins are still quite keen. RH, JancisRobinson