Chateau Troplong Mondot with its 33 ha is considered to be a large estate as the majority of properties in this area are usually no bigger than 10 ha.
It sits on the top of a hill (106 meters) and dominates the surrounding countryside; the gentle south west slope overlooking the village of Saint-Émilion and the sharp south facing hill which extends to Chateau Pavie.
The vineyard is planted on this plateau where it has optimal sunlight and perfect natural drainage. The average age of the vines are thirty years old, they flourish and reach perfection in a limestone clay soil enhanced with sedimentary fragments of flint and chalk. It’s this secret alchemy which makes the quality of our ‘terroir’.
Our vineyard is planted traditionally with the best varietals of this area of Bordeaux. Merlot is the royal varietal of this region and the most widely planted which gives the powerful structure to our wines, in other words, its body and flexibility, whereas Cabernet Franc gives it delicacy and elegance and Cabernet Sauvignon its personality and long life.
Family
Troplong Mondot is one of its most beautiful ongoing testimonials of thevery old tradition of wine growing in Saint-Émilion. At the beginning of the XVIIIth century, the Mondot estate belonged to one of the most prestigious aristocratic families in Gironde: the de Sèze family. They became famous by defending Louis XVI before the Constitution. The count, Peer de France, who was also a member of the French Academy,naturally brought his renown to the property, and the wine of Mondot became among the most sought after in Saint-Émilion.
In 1850, Raymond-Théodore Troplong acquired Mondot. Inspite of already having many and important national responsibilities, this jurist, President of the Senate under the Second Empire, helped contribute to expanding the vineyard and promoting the reputation of the estate. It was Edouard Troplong who, at the death of Raymond, inherited the vineyard. Following a trend at that period, he added Mondot to his own name. Troplong Mondot was born!
At the beginning of the XXth century, Alexander Valette, a wine merchant in Paris bought the property shaped by its previous owners. Had he remembered, in 1868 it was established as one of the “Grands” of Saint-Émilion in Féret’s list? Or had he been charmed by the magic of this property and the beauty of the garden surrounding this large attractive home facing the village of Saint-Émilion? His son Bernard, inherited the estate, then his grand-son Claude, took over the property. In 1981, Claude Valette entrusted the destiny