Saint-Emilion
Discover the exceptional wines and rich history of Saint-Emilion, one of the most prestigious appellations in the Right Bank of Bordeaux. Explore the ancient underground cellars and lush vineyards of Château Ausone, one of the region's most iconic estates, or indulge in the elegant and complex blends of Château Cheval Blanc. Other notable estates include Château Figeac, known for its rich and silky wines, Château Angelus, renowned for its opulent and powerful blends, and Château Canon, known for its structured and refined wines. With a unique terroir and a focus on Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes, Saint-Emilion offers a range of flavors and styles to discover. Experience the magic of this timeless wine region today.
Saint-Emilion
-
James Suckling (92-93)
This is already nicely salty and chalky with crushed stones. Medium-to full-bodied with medium, firm tannins and a medium, juicy finish.د.إ460.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (96)
Spice-laden red and black fruits, leafy tobacco, savory flowers, and new leather notes all shine in the 2022 Château Tour Saint Christophe, another brilliant wine from this team. I love its complexity, and it's medium to full-bodied on the palate, with fine tannins, a layered, elegant mouthfeel, beautifully integrated oak, and a great finish. Based on 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc brought up in 25% new French oak, give bottles 3-5 years if you can and enjoy over the following 15+.د.إ689.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (97)
A flat-out gorgeous wine in the vintage is the 2012 Troplong Mondot, which sports an inky ruby/purple color to go with heavenly notes of black currants, smoked earth, plums, licorice and graphite. Full-bodied, seamless, ultra-pure and impressively concentrated, this blockbuster effort needs 3-4 years in the cellar to let the tannins integrate, and it will knock your socks off over the following two decades.د.إ1,615.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (96)
The 2014 Troplong Mondot is unquestionably one of the wines of the vintage, and this beauty has more intensity, richness, and exuberance than just about every other wine in 2014. A blend of 90% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc brought up in 85% new French oak, it sports a deep purple/plum color as well as a smorgasbord of blackcurrants, blackberries, scorched earth, toasty oak, graphite, espresso, and earth. With full-bodied richness, beautiful purity of fruit, and a rich, yet weightless texture, it’s a big, yet classy, elegant, and seamless wine from Xavier Pariente that should be snatched up by readers. It’s already drinking well but has 20-25 years of prime drinking to go.د.إ4,310.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (99)
A wine I was able to taste on multiple occasions, the 2015 Troplong Mondot is a tour de force that readers need to snatch up. This cuvee comes from the cool, clay and limestone soils on the upper plateau (it’s the highest point in the appellation) and is a blend of 92% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, harvest between September 30th and October 21st, that was brought up in 85% new French oak. Sporting a deep, inky color as well as a sensational bouquet of creme de cassis, blackberry, toasted spice, licorice and spring flowers, it’s another huge wine from this estate that has perfect balance between its fruit, oak and tannin, a stacked mid-palate, and an incredible finish. I wrote "crazy good" more than once in my notes. It has enough fruit and texture to drink nicely even today, yet needs 4-5 years of cellaring and will keep for two to three decades. It's one of the great wines of the vintage.د.إ4,900.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (99)
A wine I was able to taste on multiple occasions, the 2015 Troplong Mondot is a tour de force that readers need to snatch up. This cuvee comes from the cool, clay and limestone soils on the upper plateau (it’s the highest point in the appellation) and is a blend of 92% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc, harvest between September 30th and October 21st, that was brought up in 85% new French oak. Sporting a deep, inky color as well as a sensational bouquet of creme de cassis, blackberry, toasted spice, licorice and spring flowers, it’s another huge wine from this estate that has perfect balance between its fruit, oak and tannin, a stacked mid-palate, and an incredible finish. I wrote "crazy good" more than once in my notes. It has enough fruit and texture to drink nicely even today, yet needs 4-5 years of cellaring and will keep for two to three decades. It's one of the great wines of the vintage.د.إ2,580.00 -
Vinous - Antonio Galloni (98+)
The 2017 Troplong Mondot is stunning, just as it was en primeur. Rich and ample, yet endowed with striking energy as well, the 2017 is the first vintage made by new CEO Aymeric de Gironde and consulting winemaker Thomas Duclos. The 2017 takes hold of all the senses and never lets up. All of the power that is typical of this site is evident, it seems to come so naturally, and yet picking earlier and then using a lighter hand in the cellar yielded a Troplong of uncommon energy and vibrancy. The 2017 has been nothing short of thrilling on the four occasions I have tasted it from bottle so far. What a wine!د.إ1,425.00 -
James Suckling (98)
This is a very linear red and layered at the same time, showing blackberry, blueberry, black-truffle, bark and stone character. Chalk and minerality, too. It’s full-bodied and well framed with gorgeous intensity and freshness. Muscular with wonderful structure and brightness. Salty and savory notes on the finish. Try after 2024.د.إ1,570.00 -
Decanter (99)
Such a seductive soft perfume to the nose, delicate yet generous aromatics of cherry and rose. The palate is juicy and fresh, charming yet energetic with such crystalline purity and balance. Tannins are smooth but softly textured giving nuance to the flavours where refreshing high toned ripe red and black cherry fruit play alongside mint, dark chocolate and graphite. Clearly powerfully but carefully controlled from start to finish giving such a satisfying overall mouthful and lasting impression. Incredible.د.إ1,720.00 -
Decanter (100)
A sensational Troplong. Vibrant and vivid, this makes you smile from the first smell: milk chocolate, floral notes of roses and lavender, wet stones, liquorice, cinnamon and ripe bramble fruits. Round and thrilling on the palate, tannins are abundant with a chalky blueberry coolness while a salty tang settles around the mouth. Lovely precision and purity of fruit; you feel the sharp definition - still linear which makes it less immediately charming than the 2019 but giving undeniable complexity. Deep but not heady, this remains pure and detailed, with a leanness from the terroir really setting this apart. After a few minutes, the glamour starts to appear giving a salivating, succulent and moreish aspect to the finish. An absolute beauty.د.إ1,580.00 -
Vinous - Antonio Galloni (95-97)
The 2021 Troplong Mondot is shockingly raw and untamed, but in the very best sense of those terms. A wine of energy and pure power, the 2021 is going to need a number of years to be at its best, but it is certainly very impressive in the early going. The 2021 clocks in at 13.5%, which has not been seen here since the 1990s. The 2021 is not an easy wine to taste at this stage, as it is not fully formed. I won't be surprised if the 2021 turns out even better than this note suggests. It is a dazzling wine by any measure, and a far cry from the wines of decade ago, when the malolactic fermentations were often not finished when en primeur samples were presented! Superb.د.إ2,720.00 -
Vinous - Antonio Galloni (95-97)
The 2021 Troplong Mondot is shockingly raw and untamed, but in the very best sense of those terms. A wine of energy and pure power, the 2021 is going to need a number of years to be at its best, but it is certainly very impressive in the early going. The 2021 clocks in at 13.5%, which has not been seen here since the 1990s. The 2021 is not an easy wine to taste at this stage, as it is not fully formed. I won't be surprised if the 2021 turns out even better than this note suggests. It is a dazzling wine by any measure, and a far cry from the wines of decade ago, when the malolactic fermentations were often not finished when en primeur samples were presented! Superb.د.إ1,165.00 -
Wine Advocate (100)
The 2022 Troplong Mondot has turned out brilliantly in bottle. Wafting from the glass with aromas of mulberries and blackberries mingled with notions of licorice, rose petals, incense and pencil shavings, it's full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, with huge mid-palate volume, superb integration and an ineffable sense of completeness. This site always delivers power, but I've never tasted a Troplong that's simultaneously quite so powerful or quite so harmonious and suave. Concluding with a broad, violet-inflected finish, the 2022 represents the essence of this remarkable site.د.إ2,590.00 -
Vinous - Antonio Galloni (98)
The 2023 Troplong Mondot is one of the truly great wines of 2023. Translucent and also quite powerful, the 2023 screams with class. It's a wine that beautifully reconciles expression of place, vintage and the house style that has been in place since 2017. It's one of the finest wines made here over the last decade, a real rockstar. Graphite, spice, mocha and dried herbs build into the huge, dense finish. Tasted two times.د.إ2,915.00 -
James Suckling (98)
Complex aromas of blackberries, dried flowers and other dark fruit. Shows hints of cedar and blackberries. Full-bodied, dense and wonderfully integrated with rich tannins that just melt into the wine. Extremely fine and focused finish. Shows harmony and balance. Better after 2024.د.إ1,795.00 -
Vinous - Antonio Galloni (100)
The 2005 Valandraud is off the charts. Easily one of the wines of the vintage, the 2005 Valandraud possesses tremendous richness from start to finish. Moreover, it has aged exquisitely. Inky red fruit, iron, smoke, dried herbs, menthol, licorice and blood orange infuse the 2005 with striking layers of nuance to play off all that unctuous fruit. This full-throttle Saint-Émilion is a prodigious effort from Jean-Luc Thunevin and Murielle Andraud.د.إ13,045.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (98+)
Including 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, the Merlot-dominated 2016 Château Valandraud is a brilliant example of this cuvée that should match or exceed the incredible 2015 at maturity. Brought up all in new oak, its deep purple color is followed by a powerful bouquet of crème de cassis, graphite, smoked earth, and hints of earth. Possessing full-bodied richness, thrilling purity of fruit, ripe tannins, and just about perfect balance, it's another tour de force from the incredibly talented Jean-Luc Thunevin. It's slightly more elegant than the L'Interdit de Valandraud cuvée and will benefit from short-term cellaring and cruise for two decades or more.د.إ2,955.00 -
Wine Advocate (94)
The 2015 Villemaurine is blended of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, aged in 70% new and 30% one-year-old oak barrels for 16 months. Medium garnet-purple in color, it is scented of crushed black cherries, mulberries and blackberry preserves with cedar chest and rose hip hints. Medium to full-bodied with firm, grainy tannins, it's tightly knit with loads of layers and wonderful purity, finishing with great length and depth.د.إ1,855.00 -
Vinous - Antonio Galloni (94)
The 2018 Virginie de Valandraud is superb. Silky, pliant and expressive, the 2018 is wonderfully caressing right out of the gate. Crushed red berry fruit, mocha, spice and new leather all meld together effortlessly. From bottle, the 2018 is more refined and delicate than it was from barrel, and every bit as compelling. The Virginie is made from a collection of unclassed parcels around Valandraud and on the plains below the core holdings.د.إ923.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (95)
Mostly Merlot (there's roughly 20% Cabernet Franc), the 2019 Château Valandraud Virginie De Valandraud from the Thunevin team reveals a deep purple hue to go with a brilliant nose of spiced currants, black cherries, new saddle leather, Provençal herbs, and subtle floral nuances. It's rich, medium to full-bodied, and flawlessly balanced on the palate, with gorgeous tannins and a great finish. It's the finest vintage for this cuvée I've tasted, surpassing the 2015, 2016, and 2018. It's going to drink brilliantly for 20 years or more.د.إ923.00

