1945 Troplong Mondot

BY NEAL MARTIN | NOVEMBER 04, 2024

Best vintage of the 20th century? 1945. Few will argue against that. A one-off historical nexus of victory against evil with victory in the vineyard. In reality, many Bordeaux estates were close to ruinous conditions following the Depression of the 1930s followed by six years of war and occupation by the German army. Consequently, there are astonishing successes and unavoidable failures simply through circumstance. You never quite know what to expect when venturing beyond the First Growths.

I must confess that I had no idea what I would find when a 1945 Troplong Mondot was poured at a dinner in the Far East. I never had a vintage before the 1980s. Who knew how the wine had evolved over several decades? I had no clue what condition this Saint-Émilion was in at the end of the Second World War. Troplong Mondot had been sold by Georges Thienpont in 1936, the Belgian keeping Vieux Château Certan. The buyer was Alexander Valette, a négociant based in Saint Ouen, who acquired Pavie in 1943.

But this was one of those occasions when the wine confounded all expectations in the best way possible. This bottle of 1945 Troplong Mondot had been bought at auction from the famous Graham Lyons’ cellar. Many of my most memorable experiences have come from this exceptional sale of old bottles kept in perfect condition. The 1945 is high-toned on the nose, some VA, not complex, yet laden with luscious, iridescent black cherry and blueberry fruit, with just a hint of black olive. The palate is medium-bodied, with layers of black fruit tinged with aniseed, perfectly balanced with robust tannins, suggesting that it may have undergone more extraction than its peers at that time. There is immense substance, if not quite requisite finesse, though the smooth texture wins you over in the end. The more I am acquainted with this bottle, the more I am charmed, and after 30 minutes, it is equal to any Right Bank that I have tasted from this vintage. What a privilege to drink. 97/Drink 2024-2044.