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La Mondotte 2015

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot/Cabernet Franc

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Label

Tasting Notes

The deep purple, inky-colored 2015 La Mondotte is something to behold and one of the top handful of wines in the vintage, as well as a perfect wine. Coming from an organically farmed 4.5-hectare parcel of clay and limestone soils located behind Pavie Decesse and a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc (it hit 14.5% alcohol), it boasts awesome aromatics of crème de cassis, graphite, black licorice, and toasty oak, with building minerality that comes through with time in the glass. It’s incredible on the palate as well and possesses a huge, super-concentrated, yet thrillingly pure, elegant style as well as lots of sweet tannins and a huge finish. It’s a primordial baby at the moment, but wow, what a wine. Give bottles 4-5 years of cellaring and it should keep for two to three decades. 2023 - 2053

100
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, November 2017

The aromas of blackberries, iodine, oyster shell, violets and lavender are so impressive. Full-bodied, dense and beautifully balanced and refined. Transparent. Real. True beauty. Nothing adding. Organically grown grapes. Drink in 2023.

99
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2018

La Mondotte 2015 is deep garnet in color. It opens with fragrant notes of potpourri, incense, and prunes, followed by wafts of fruit cake, dusty soil, and chargrill. Full-bodied, rich and spicy in the mouth, it has compelling freshness and rounded tannins, finishing long and decadent.

94
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, December 2022

Tasted blind. Brooding crimson. Real lift on a very concentrated palate. Polished tannins. Rather suave and knowing. Lots of interest here. Appetising dry finish.
Drink 2024-2042

17
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2019

Rich and sweet fruit the nose has depth the start of the palate fleshy and ripe black fruits and liquorice. Although the tannins are firm and chewy the back palate has a mix of dried fruits and black cherry the finish tight with a dusty dryness. 2024-37

88/92
Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, April 2016

Made from old Merlot vines, some of which date back to the early 20th century, this is a super
concentrated wine that’s hunkered down behind a wall of tannin at the moment. Dense, oaky
and built for the long haul, it’s tricky to taste now. Its track record suggests that it will age
well. Drink: 2022-30

93
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2016

La Mondotte has an extra level of exoticism this year and there is some stunning tobacco and chocolate here, too.
Completely different to the Angélus or Pavie model this wine manages to make a maximum impact with much less noise
and bluster. The fruit is dark and swarthy, with lashings of earth and spice, but the presentation is honed and becalmed
and even the raucous tannins are orderly and fine.

18+
Matthew Jukes, Matthew Jukes' Blog, April 2016
Read more tasting notes...

The 2015 La Mondotte is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc picked on 18 September and 7 October respectively, then aged in 80% new oak after a 33-day vatting. It has a dense, opulent and very concentrated bouquet that is driven by the super-intense Merlot, though as I mention in my accompanying introduction, the alcohol is contained and not at all apparent. The palate is very well balanced with rounded, supple tannin. There is a lot of weight in the mouth here, very focused and intense with blackberry and raspberry fruit, fine mineralité and tension, leading to an almost pixelated finish. This is an impressive La Mondotte for sure, though the 2015 Canon la Gaffeliere might offer more intellect. Drink 2020-2045

94/96
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (224), April 2016

A phenomenal La Mondotte. The purity and intensity is so amazing. Full body, super fine and creamy tannins. The clarity is great. You can see that they have pulled back on the new wood and went for transparency. Wow.

99/100
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2016

85% Merlot, 80% new oak. Blackish crimson. Exotic, opulent nose. Not the massive wine of yesteryear. Quite controlled and just about enough refreshment. Chewy tannins on the end. Not so much my style as its stablemates Clos de l'Oratoire and Canon La Gaffelière, but some will prefer it. Unlikely to be such good value though. Awkward tannins on the end.
Drink 2024-2034

16.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2016
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.