Troplong-Mondot St-Emilion 2016

98 points Lisa Perrotti-Brown (The Wine Independent): "The 2016 Troplong Mondot has a deep garnet color. It bursts from the glass with bold notions of plum preserves, blueberry pie, and Black Forest cake, leading to wafts of camphor, violets, and crushed rocks, with a touch of cumin seed. The palate is full-on, full-bodied: a beautiful monster of a wine delivering an explosion of black fruit preserves and exotic spices, matched by a lively line and super-velvety tannins, finishing long, long, long. One for the hedonists! Drink: 2024-2048. (2/15/24)"

97 points Peter Moser (Falstaff): "Deep dark ruby, firm core, purple reflections, DELICATE rim brightening, restrained, fine SAVOURY hints of cardamom and cloves, blackberry confit and black cherries underneath. Complex, juicy and powerful, pronounced in fruit texture, integrated, supporting tannins, mineral and long, chocolaty finish, safe MATURITY certain ageing potential. (5/24/17)"

97 points Jane Anson (Inside Bordeaux): "(90% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc). Inky depths to the colour, this is powerful, full of character. Grilled sandalwood oak notes are dominant on the attack, with the bitter almond and cracked black pepper on the finish not just welcome but essential to balance things out. Showcases the character of Troplong - concentrated, powerful, slow-ageing. Served both double decanted and a straight from bottle, and again the double decanted gives you a better impression of the complexity that is hidden within the waves of concentrated flavour. Needs another decade at least to really reveal itself. 100% new oak. Alcohol 14.5%. Drink: 2026-2050. (6/30/22)"

97 points Jeb Dunnuck: "Coming from one of the coolest terroirs in Saint-Emilion, the 2016 Château Troplong Mondot is a blend of 89% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% Cabernet Franc brought up in 77% new French oak. This deep purple-hued effort offers a smorgasbord of powerful blue and black fruits, smoked earth, truffle, chocolate, and licorice. Full-bodied, deep, and opulent on the palate, it’s a truly great wine as well as one of the superstars in 2016. It should drink well for upwards of three decades. Drink: 2019-2049. (2/28/19)"

97 points Jeff Leve (The Wine Cellar Insider): "The inky hue in the wine clearly matches up with the level of concentration in the ripe, dark berries. Add in liberal doses of black licorice, smoke, espresso, chocolate and boysenberry, and you have the core of the wine. Powerful, full, rich and with real depth of flavor, give this 10-12 years before popping a cork. (Sep 2019)"

96 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "The 2016 Troplong Mondot is fabulous. Powerful, dense and explosive, the 2016 has a lot to say. Super-ripe dark cherry, raspberry jam, chocolate, spice and new oak give the wine much of its lush, exotic feel. The château has moved in a totally different stylistic direction since this wine was made, but there is no denying the 2016 is striking. Tasted two times. Drink: 2024-2041. (Jan 2019)"

96 points James Suckling: "Love the aromas of redcurrants and cherries with flowers. Full body and tight, finely chewy tannins that impress. Linear and focused young red. Try from 2021. (1/13/19)"

95+ points Lisa Perrotti-Brown (Wine Advocate): "Aged in 77% new and 23% one-year-old French oak barrels and composed of 89% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, the 2016 Troplong Mondot has a deep garnet-purple color and comes bursting out of the glass with bold preserved plums, Black Forest cake and Indian spices scents plus suggestions of espresso, black olives, cigar box and tilled soil. Full-bodied, rich, plushly textured and oh-so-decadent, it packs in the spiced black fruit layers and finishes with fantastic persistence. Drink: 2022-2047. (11/30/18)"

95 points Jane Anson (Decanter): "This is stunning. Troplong never has trouble conjuring up wonderfully rich fruit, but here it is plump and dense without being pumped up. The tannins are chewy rather than chalky, but the elegance of the vintage is unmistakable, and the rich chocolate flavours are dusted with mint. There is a very pretty salinity on the finish that lasts for minutes. I had a fascinating visit here at the start of the week, and retasted several times as this is a wine that I sometimes have trouble understanding. My main takeout is that the majority of the richness here is found naturally in the terroir - limestone on the plateau but with cool clay over the top, which explains why they are such late harvesters. But there are always winemaking and viticultural choices coming into play in any wine, and here there are adjustments being made to bring out a more finely wrought version of what is always a high impact and successful wine. Yields are higher this year, up at 48hl/ha, which helps, as does the style of the vintage and quieter extraction in the cellar, but Troplong remains true to itself. 90% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc. Drinking Window: 2027-2050. (4/2/17)"

95 points Wine Spectator: "[$171 list] Ripe and focused, with a pure, unadulterated beam of raspberry and cherry preserve flavors that is both wide and deep, gilded prettily with a lilting violet note and infused with subtle chalky minerality through the finish. Beautiful. Best from 2023 through 2038. (3/31/19)"