Château Troplong Mondot

Troplong Mondot occupies the crest of Saint-Émilion, its vines climbing to some of the highest ground in the appellation around a hill that also lends the second wine its name. The 43-hectare vineyard sits on clay over hard limestone, planted overwhelmingly to Merlot with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc in support. Long a byword for opulence, the property changed course after the insurer SCOR acquired it in 2017: under Aymeric de Gironde the picking is earlier, the oak quieter, and the wine trades sheer mass for the tension its altitude and limestone can deliver. It remains a Premier Grand Cru Classé of real power — dark, dense, mineral — but the modern vintages carry that power with noticeably lighter feet.