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100 By Robert Parker
98 By James Suckling
19 By Rene Gabriel
96 By Wine Spectator
Perfect, the 2009 La Mondotte boasts an inky/black/purple color as well as sumptuous notes of incense, graphite, licorice, black cherries, blackberries, cedar and forest floor. It is extraordinarily thick and voluptuous with a cool climate minerality that gives the wine an uplift and freshness that is surprising in view of its massive fruit level and high extract. The tannins are abundant, but sweet and well-integrated, as are the acidity, alcohol and wood components. An infant at present, this 2009 requires 6-8 years of cellaring and should keep for three decades. This fabulous terroir has been fully exploited by proprietor Stefan von Neipperg and his consulting oenologist, Stephane Derenoncourt, since the debut vintage of 1976. Yields of 18 hectoliters per hectare were ridiculously low in 2009 and the blend is dominated by Merlot (80%) combined with 20% Cabernet Franc.
Producer
Château La Mondotte
This up-and-coming Right Bank producer, Château La Mondotte is one of the greatest garagiste to emerge in the last half of this decade. Similarly owned by the reputable Stéphan von Neipperg, along with his several other leading Bordeaux estates, La Mondotte is quite recent to the wine scene. Produced at von Neipperg’s Canon-la-Gaffelière, the 4.5-hectare vineyard debuted their first vintage in 1996. Since then, the brand has grown into one of the two finest vins de garage coming from Saint-Émilion, next to Le Dôme. The superbly well-drained, clay-silt terroir found on this unusually steep south-facing plot has produced remarkably deep and concentrated wines for two decades. Made in the classic Stephane Derenoncourt style, La Mondotte is aged on the lees in new oak for a year and a half, before being bottled unfiltered. The Merlot based blend, balanced by Cabernet Franc offers a desirable lush texture, flawlessly sewn with tannins.