Château Troplong Mondot

Château Troplong Mondot is now owned by the Valette family, bringing it into the modern era. Alexandre Valette, a wine merchant in Paris, bought the estate designed by Raymond Troplong. He already owned Château La France in Fronsac and Quinsac, and acquired Château Pavie shortly afterwards. In 1980, Alexandre's great-granddaughter Christine took over the estate. Ten years later, her husband Xavier Parienté joined her. Together, they continued to improve the vineyards, the cellars and the château. In 2006, all these years of hard work were rewarded: Troplong-Mondot is named 1er Grand Cru Classé.

The vineyards of Château Troplong Mondot extends over thick limestone bedrock beneath the layer of fatty clay, and the water table in the subsoil combine to provide Troplong Mondot's old vines (average age 35 years, the oldest are nonagenarian) with the limited fertility necessary for great growths. The clay-limestone soil, typical of Saint-Emilion hillside crus, is mixed with sedimentary fragments of flint and limestone. It is perhaps to this original component that we owe the splendid color and beautiful concentration of this wine.

Driving the Château Troplong Mondot is traditional in a framework of reasoned control (no weedkillers, no chemical fertilizers, no insecticides). Ploughing, M. Cordeau Bordeaux pruning at two astes. Green debudding in spring. In July, leaf thinning followed by thinning to ensure optimal grape ripening. Hand-picked on the basis of three criteria: ripeness checks, berry tasting and different terroirs on the estate.
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