Château La Mondotte 2020

The story of La Mondotte is a Cinderella story if ever there was one.  Who would have thought this tiny, unclassified property in Saint-Émilion would eventually join the ranks of illustrious, star producers like Château Figeac and Château Canon La Gaffelière as a Premiere Grand Cru Classes estate? La Mondotte’s extraordinary turnaround is largely due to the hard work the von Neipperg family put into the property.  For oenophiles who love concentrated, intense, and mineral driven wines, look no further than this gem of a property in the Right Bank. 

The history of La Mondotte begins in the modern era when it was purchased by the von Neipperg family in 1971.  The von Neippergs are no stranger to the winemaking scene, having produced wine in portions of Germany for 800 years.  The von Neipperg family seems to have the Midas touch, having turned properties like Château Canon La Gaffelière into true standouts and exemplary expressions of Saint-Émilion terroir.  With all that in mind, La Mondotte was a bit of a late bloomer.  Though it was acquired the same time as some other von Neipperg estates, like Canon La Gaffelière and Clos de l'Oratoire, La Mondotte remained relatively obscure.  By 1989, the other estates mentioned were already producing knockout vintages simply because the von Neippergs had not directed their attention toward La Mondotte.  It wasn’t until 1995 when Stephan von Neipperg shifted his focus to the vineyards at La Mondotte that things started to turn around for the estate. 

Stephan von Neipperg prioritized cleaning the soils and moving to self-sustaining farming first because he believed the estate had the same potential as other Premiere Grand Cru Classés properties in Saint-Émilion.  They switched the practices over at the estate to biodynamic practices and implemented organic viticultural techniques.  As of 2014 La Mondotte was 100% Certified Organic.  With all that in mind, the most exciting part of this property’s journey was in 2012, when it was classified as a Premier Grand Cru Classe wine.  This is extremely rare for unclassified vineyards in the Right Bank region of Saint-Émilion.  In the entire history of the Saint-Émilion Classification, only one other wine made such a turnaround that it was granted this incredibly high honor. 

La Mondotte is a small, 4.5-hectare property that is planted with 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc.  La Mondotte has some famous neighbors, including Château Troplong Mondot and Château Larcis Ducasse.  The estate is located a stone’s throw east of the famous Saint-Émilion limestone plateau.  The terroir is mostly clay and silt with heavy limestone deposits in the soil.  Like its sibling, Château Canon La Gaffelière, La Mondotte has its share of old vines – some date as far back to 1939.  The wine is produced with whole berry fermentation in a gravity flow operation, and the wine is diligently crafted at very low yields.  This results in a stunning, mineral-driven wine that has enormous aging potential and can lay down for 12-15 years or more prior to reaching its fullest potential.  

"A true blockbuster in the vintage is the 2020 La Mondotte, which comes from a tiny 12-acre parcel of limestone soils located near Troplong Mondot, Pavie, and Larcis Ducasse, on the upper limestone plateau. Emerging from the talented team of Stephan von Neipperg and brought up in new barrels, it has a wonderfully pure, clean, medium to full-bodied style offering integrated oak, a straight, focused texture, and incredible purity in its darker berry fruits as well as notes of gravelly earth and liquid violets. It’s common for the wines from the upper plateau to show more perfumed ethereal aromatics (as opposed to more richness from wines on the hillside), and this is incredibly perfumed, elegant, and aromatic while still offering density, structure, and length. It’s going to take 7-8 years to hit maturity, but it should see its 30th birthday in fine form.' Jeb Dunnuck, Bordeaux 2020: En Primeur Part 1 (05/23/2021) Rating: 96-98 

"Ruby and violet-laced colour, glass-staining berry fruit, clear limestone influence, sappy and a little austere, slate and juice. Muscular in its colour and aromatics on the attack, then it contracts halfway through the palate and the grippy tannins come into play. A yield of 36hl/ha. Good stuff." Jane Anson, Decanter (04/30/2021) Rating: 94 Drink: 2028-2040

"The 2020 La Mondotte is inky and powerful, but also very much closed in on itself. Inky blue/blackish fruit, spice, lavender, gravel, new leather and coffee all take shape with a bit of air. Like all of Stephan von Neipperg's 2020s, La Mondotte deftly marries textural richness with energy. The result is a deep, potent La Mondotte that has so much to offer. The clean, vibrant finish is a thing of beauty. Superb." Anthony Galloni, Vinous (June 2021) Rating: 95-97