Collector Wines

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The 2005 Troplong Mondot is a blend of 90% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc. It was emotional tasting this wine, thinking of the late Christine Valette, who made this compelling wine while battling with considerable courage against an insidious disease. It is a great effort and a superstar of the vintage. Dense purple, it offers notes of white chocolate, blackberry, cassis and licorice as well as a hint of truffle and some subtle background oak. Full-bodied, multi-layered, and spectacularly pure and rich, it is a tour de force, and a great tribute to an incredible woman. Remarkably youthful, this wine probably needs another 4-8 years of bottle age, and should keep for 20 or more years. Kudos to the late Christine Valette!Robert Parker | 100 RPThe 2005 Troplong Mondot is a heady, sumptuous beauty. Sweet black cherry, plum, chocolate, spice, new leather, licorice and menthol all open in the glass. Hedonistic and opulent to the core, the 2005 is a decidedly exuberant Saint-Émilion. I would open it a few hours in advance, as aeration helps soften some of the initial flamboyance. The 2005 is a gorgeous, captivating wine. It is modern Saint-Émilion at its finest. Moreover, it does not appear to have lost much, if anything, since the last time I tasted it a few years ago!Antonio Galloni | 97 AGExhibits aromas of coffee, ripe fruit, wild mushroom and blackberry. Dark and very complex. Full-bodied and chewy, yet velvety and beautiful, with intense flavors of blackberry, chocolate and tobacco. Very, very long This is layered and gorgeous. Best after 2016. 6,250 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

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.Antonio Galloni | 100 AGThis may be the most prodigious wine Jean-Luc Thunevin and his partner Murielle Andraud have made to date. Inky purple to the rim at age ten, this wine’s explosive aromatics include espresso, chocolate, plum, blackberry and cassis. The oak is well-hidden behind an extravagant, full-bodied, multi-layered palate. Stunningly pure, super-intense and just beginning to move into middle adolescence, the “Bad Boy” of Bordeaux has produced a legend in 2005. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2035.Robert Parker | 97 RPDark ruby in color, with intense aromas of blackberry, mineral and dried lavender. Full-bodied, very dense and layered, with powerful tannins. This is big and very rich. A bodybuilder. Needs time. Best after 2016. 1,330 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSOne of the likely candidates for promotion to Grand Cru Classé status, this is Jean-Luc Thunevin’s original estate. This year there is considerable restraint in what is normally an immensely opulent wine: it is elegant, rather than having a no-holds-barred attitude, that will make this wine a classic.Wine Enthusiast | 91 WE