Château Troplong-Mondot: Vineyards
Château Troplong-Mondot is located to the east of St Emilion, on a commanding hill in the Mondot secteur. This crest reaches an altitude of 100 metres above sea level, not that remarkable in itself, but for Bordeaux this is a towering mountain. The property is perhaps the best known in the vicinity, although just to the south there lies La Mondotte and the old Château Bellevue-Mondotte (absorbed into Château Pavie with the 2022 iteration of the St Emilion classification), both of which also clearly state (or stated) their allegiance to this corner of the appellation. Of note, to the east there also lies L’If, recently acquired by the Thienpont family, once proprietors of Château Troplong-Mondot.
When I first visited Troplong-Mondot, during the early years of the 21st century, the vineyard still stood at the 27 hectares established during the time of Abbé Jean de Sèze. Within minutes (well, it was quick, perhaps not minutes) of the acquisition of the estate SCOR SE expanded the vineyard with the purchase of 6 hectares from neighbouring Château Bellisle Mondotte (on the same side as L’If; I have rarely seen the wine, although I do recall tasting the 2000 vintage) and 4 hectares from the even less familiar Clos Labarde.
Sitting roughly at the centre of the estate is the château (pictured below – before the SCOR SE facelift) built by the abbot in 1745, now augmented by the addition of expansive cellars (the white gable end just visible on the left) and other buildings. There is also, somewhat overshadowing the attractive buildings, a gigantic municipal water tower formed from drab and somewhat scarred concrete. To say that this looks out of place here is something of an understatement; it has a positively alien feel to it. The only advantage to its presence is as a rather ugly landmark; take a look across the vines and rolling slopes from the gravel-strewn courtyard of Château Ausone, for example, and it is easy to locate the tower peeking out above the trees of the opposite hilltop. Well done, you have just located Château Troplong-Mondot.
