Chateau Troplong Mondot has a long and colorful history in St. Emilion that dates back to the 17th century. In those days, what we know as Troplong Mondot was the property of Abbe Raymond de Seze. It was de Seze, who created the beautiful chateau that remains at Troplong Mondot today. When the chateau was being constructed in 1745, the Sèze family were already established in the Bordeaux wine community. In fact, they owned several different properties in St. Emilion in those days.

 umping ahead about 100 years, the namesake of the estate purchased vineyards. In 1850, Raymond Troplong became the owner of this Right Bank estate. Following in the custom of the time, the new owner, Troplong combined the name of the land with his last name and came up with Troplong Mondot. During his tenure at Troplong Mondot, he increased the size of the Bordeaux wine vineyard until it reached the exact size it remains today.

 Eventually, the estate was sold to the well known Bordeaux wine merchant Georges Thienpont from Belgium. Three years later, Georges Thienpont purchased another property, Vieux Chateau Certan in the neighboring appellation of Pomerol. Needing money after obtaining Vieux Chateau Certan, in 1936, Thienpont was forced to sell Troplong Mondot. The property at that time passed into the hands of Alexander Valette. Like Thienpont, Alexander Valette was a well known Bordeaux wine negociant.

Troplong Mondot has remained in the hands of the Valette family since 1936. Christine Valette bean to manage the property starting in 1980. Running Chateau Troplong Mondot has always been a family affair. Once Christine Valette took over the management of Chateau Troplong Mondot, things quickly changed for the better. They stopped harvesting by machine. They began picking later and reduced the yields to increase the concentration of the wine. The remaining Malbec vines were removed. To further reduce yields, they changed from single to double Guyot pruning. Christine Valette also hired Michel Rolland. Things changed again when Jean-Philippe Fort began to consult the estate in 2000. They focused on sorting, added temperature control to the vats and increased the percentage of new, French oak barrels to age the wine. They also created a second wine, Mondot in 1985.

 The next change was in the vinification, when 11 new, stainless steel vats were added, making Troplong Mondot one of the first estates in the area to vinify on a parcel by parcel basis. All these changes began to show in the increased quality of Chateau Troplong Mondot, which quickly became known as one of the top wines in the Right Bank. The first vintage that really stood out for Troplong Mondot was the 1989, which was followed by the stunning and exotic, 1990 Troplong Mondot. The decade of the 1990’s was mixed for Chateau Troplong Mondot, with 1998 standing out as the best wine of the decade. Things changed for the better with the 2000 Troplong Mondot. From that point forward, the chateau could do no wrong. Vintage after vintage produced great wines. 2005, 2009 and 2010 are all remarkable wines that were overseen by Christine Valette and Xavier Pariente. Sadly, on March 28, 2014, Christine Valette passed away. Christine Valette Remembered. Today, Chateau Troplong Mondot is ably managed by Xavier Pariente who has been involved with the estate since 2002.

Troplong Mondot occupies great terroir. The 33 hectare vineyard is situated on the slopes, at an elevation that allows views of the entire St. Emilion village. The elevation at the highest point reaches over 100 meters. The soil consists of deep limestone deposits under layers of thick clay. There are also sedimentary fragments of flint and limestone. Since 1988, the plantings at Troplong Mondot have changed, slowly, but surely.

 

According to Christine Valette, 1989, was the first vintage Troplong Mondot produced its first great Bordeaux wine of the modern era. In 1989, the final blend was 65% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Malbec. That wine could not be made today as the vineyards are planted differently. Currently, the vineyard is planted to 90% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc. During the replanting, new root stocks were used, which assist in low yields. The average age of the vines is about 25 years. But there are old vines that are close to 100 years old, located near the barrel room at the top of the slopes

Troplong Mondot practices traditional viticulture, combined with an environmentally, friendly approach and modern techniques. They use no weedkillers, chemical fertilizers or pesticides. De-budding in the spring and De-leafing in July, along with crop thinning to enhance optimal ripening of the grapes are always practiced here. Over the years, the cellars have enjoyed extensive modernization. The vineyard has been restructured and today, 33% of the vines are farmed using organic farming techniques including the use of horses.

Starting in 2007 Chateau Troplong Mondot began a complete renovation of their wine making facilities which continued until 2008, in time for the new harvest. The new wine making facilities for Chateau Troplong Mondot included the addition of 11, truncated, stainless steel vats that range in size from from 83 hectoliters to 99 hectoliters. They also added a new computer system as well as improved destemming machines and vibrating, sorting technology. In 2009, they began to use micro vinification for a small percentage of their harvest. Starting with the 2011 Bordeaux vintage, they added optical sorting technology to their list of tools needed to continue producing some of the best wine St. Emilion has to offer.

To produce the wine of Troplong Mondot, vinification takes place in new, temperature controlled, truncated, stainless steel vats for between 80% to 85% of the crop. Starting in 2009, Troplong Mondot began to use micro vinification techniques for 15% to 20% of their wine. To do this, they use an average of twenty, 600 liter barrels for the cold maceration and alcoholic fermentation. Following alcoholic fermentation, the wine is transferred to the regular, small barrels for the malolactic fermentation and aging. Malolactic fermentation takes place using the Oxoline system. The wine is aged in on average, 75% new, French oak barrels for 16 to 24 months, but this can vary, depending on the strength and character of the vintage. The property produces about 7,000 cases a year on average of Troplong Mondot. The estate also makes a second wine, Mondot. Jean Philippe Forts is the consultant. In 2006 Chateau Troplong Mondot was awarded their well deserved promotion to Premier Grand Cru Classé B status, which was upheld in the recent 2012 St. Emilion classification.

Due to their unique, cooler terroir on the top of the slopes, with large deposits of clay, Troplong Mondot is often one of the last, St. Emilion vineyards to be harvested.