Chateau Troplong Mondot 1999
Chateau Troplong Mondot 1999 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 Seze family were already established in the Bordeaux wine community. In fact, they owned several different properties in St. Emilion in those days.
Jumping 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 their vineyard until it reached the exact size it remains today. Eventually, the estate was sold to the well known negociant, 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 Georges Thienpont, Alexander Valette was a well known Bordeaux negociant. Chateau Troplong Mondot remained a family owned property since 1936, until 2017.
The 37 hectare vineyard of Troplong Mondot is planted to 85% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc. Troplong Mondot occupies great terroir situated on top of the Saint Emilion plateau and slopes, at an elevation that allows views of the entire St. Emilion village. 26.5 hectares of the vineyard are currently classified with First Growth status. The newly added 4 hectares of vines came from the purchase of Clos Labarde and Mondote Belile. The elevation at the highest point reaches over 100 meters at the top of the plateau, which is the highest point in the entire Saint Emilion appellation.
