Chateau Troplong Mondot 2015

JEB DUNNUCK: "A wine I was able to taste on multiple occasions, the 2015 Troplong Mondot is a tour de force that readers need to snatch up. This cuvee comes from the cool, clay and limestone soils on the upper plateau (it’s the highest point in the appellation) and is a blend of 92% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, harvest between September 30th and October 21st, that was brought up in 85% new French oak. Sporting a deep, inky color as well as a sensational bouquet of creme de cassis, blackberry, toasted spice, licorice and spring flowers, it’s another huge wine from this estate that has perfect balance between its fruit, oak and tannin, a stacked mid-palate, and an incredible finish. I wrote "crazy good" more than once in my notes. It has enough fruit and texture to drink nicely even today, yet needs 4-5 years of cellaring and will keep for two to three decades. It's one of the great wines of the vintage."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "If sexy, sensuous textures, a wall of ripe and very ripe fruit, truffle, licorice, black and blue fruits with chocolate that are delivered with palate staining intensity is your thing, you need this wine!"

JAMES SUCKLING: "Expressive, ripe dark plums swathed in aromas of mocha, toasted baking spices, graphite, blackberries and mulberries. The flavor-soaked palate arrives on suave, velvety tannins, delivering flavors of vibrant, concentrated dark plums, mulberries, dark chocolate and cocoa in a youthful, fresh style. Terrific wine with ultra-long finish. An essay in power and elegance. Essence-like."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Blended of 90% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc aged in French oak, 85% new, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Troplong Mondot is redolent of warm plums, blackberry tart and blueberry pie with suggestions of underbrush, bay leaves, cedar chest and lavender plus a waft of baking spices. Full-bodied and full-throttle in the mouth, the palate is decadently packed with a solid core of black and blue fruit layers, supported with firm, grainy tannins and finishing with loads of spicy layers. This pedal-to-the-metal beauty is the ultimate indulgence for the hedonists!"

DECANTER: "Troplong-Mondot is always a muscular wine that I found hard to understand until I walked the clay-over-limestone soil of the vineyard. Recent years have seen the power tempered a little by allowing the yields to creep a little higher, and the 2015 displays a balance that I didn't find here in 2009 or even 2010. It's a naturally powerful expression of Merlot which you feel straight away on the nose, displaying finessed and concentrated black fruits. It's still intense, but you can breathe. Drinking Window 2023 - 2040"

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "In keeping with the new style from this estate, this is a powerful, opulent wine. Its density, concentration and layers of dark fruits are all of a piece, held together by powerful tannins. Touches of black coffee and spice emphasize the richness of the fruit and the opulent aftertaste. Drink from 2025."

WINE SPECTATOR: "Offers a gorgeous, caressing, velvety feel, with waves of warmed plum, fig compote and blackberry reduction gliding through, inlaid with notes of graphite, sweet tobacco and black licorice. A light loamy echo adds a pleasant tug of earth at the very end. Best from 2022 through 2040."

WEINWISSER: "Sattes Purpur mit lila und violetten Reflexen. Sehr intensives Bouquet, süss und auch etwas trocken zugleich, kandierte Cakefrüchte und Kräuternoten, Kokosnuancen und Amarenakirschen. Irgendwie hat er in der Nase etwas Massetohaftes. Im Gaumen satt, wirkt etwas extrahiert, hat aber ein spannendes Potenzial. Die massiven Tannine passen zum Jahrgang. Ich stand dem Troplong-Mondot nicht selten kritisch gegenüber. Mal schauen, wie er sich entwickelt."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung, feine Dörrobstanklänge, ein Hauch von Feigen, reife Pflaumen, schokoladiger Touch, kandierte Orangenzesten. Kraftvoll, reife schwarze Beerenfrucht, präsente, zart kantige Tannine, mineralisch, der etwas spröde Körper passt irgendwie nicht zu dem opulenten Bukett, braucht noch einige Zeit."