The 2019 Troplong Mondot is sensational. Rich, vibrant and explosive, the 2019 pulses with energy. Black cherry, violet plum, licorice, lavender and dark spice build in a statuesque Saint-?milion endowed with tremendous energy and pure power. Troplong Mondot is not as obvious a wine as it was a few years ago, but its grandeur - and more importantly, the grandeur of this site - are evident. Troplong Mondot is a wine that simply can't be denied. The 2019 is aging in 60% new oak and 40% a combination of once-used barrels, foudres and amphora. Troplong Mondot has undergone a radical transformation since 2017 under the stewardship of Managing Director Aymeric de Gironde. Today, picking is earlier, there is greater focus on a parcel by parcel approach at harvest, no SO2 is used until barreling down, and for the first time, none of the malolactic fermentation was done in oak. Harvest took place from September 10 through October 7. De Gironde was among the managers who reported clusters of uneven ripeness, but added he is more comfortable with that than he might have been a few years ago, a way of thinking that is becoming more common in Bordeaux. In tasting, Troplong Mondot remains a big, broad-shouldered Saint-?milion, but now it also has more energy and vibrancy than in the past.