At this Bordeaux wine estate, the hogs eat Michelin-starred scraps and ducks are friends, not food
Chateau Troplong Mondot is one of 14 Premier Grand Cru Classe wine producers in Saint-Emilion, and a rare sustainability-focused estate with boutique lodging and an established Michelin-starred restaurant.
At Bordeaux wine estate Chateau Troplong Mondot, animals are not reared for food but as eco warriors. Pigs and chickens are part of the (re)cycle of life, even if they are oblivious to the fact that their daily fancy fare originates from a Michelin-starred kitchen. The India runner ducks waddling around the pond don’t end up on plates but are the slug and bug busters ever since Troplong Mondot abolished the use of pesticide and herbicide in 2002.
At 43 hectares, Troplong Mondot is one of the largest estates in Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux’s oldest active wine-producing appellation, and is perched at the highest point at 110 metres.
Its original chateau was constructed in 1745 and the estate was expanded along the way by different owners. Christine Valette’s family, who were well-known wine merchants, purchased it in 1936, and she was key to the estate’s promotion to a Premier Grand Cru Classe B in 2006. Among her directives were later harvests and reduced yields for optimum fruit concentration and an increased percentage of new French oak during the ageing process. She also forbade the use of pesticides and had horses work the land instead of machinery long before terms like “biodynamic” and “organic” were trending.
After her death, her husband Xavier Pariente took charge of the estate before selling it to French reinsurance company SCOR in 2017. Aymeric de Gironde became its CEO, a no ordinary head honcho who possesses an impressive resume that includes stints at Krug, Hennessey and Cos D’Estournel.
Gironde’s vision is to bring Troplong Mondot’s unique limestone-and-clay terroir to the fore of the wines and draw travellers to linger beyond a glass and a meal. With the presence of a one Michelin-star restaurant Les Belles Perdrix since 2016, what remains were cosy accommodation and immersive vineyard experiences to complete the perfect food-and-wine holiday. There is now a three-suite boutique lodging The Keys, a two-bedroom Vineyard House among the vines, and a refurbished five-bedroom chateau for exclusive buyouts at €10,000 (S$14,550) per night, with private tastings and vineyard tours by Gironde thrown in.
I had checked into The Keys for a two-night stay earlier last spring. The wisteria-draped outbuilding fashioned like a country home was a tranquil haven to retreat to each day. In the mornings, the aroma of freshly baked pastries wafted out of the communal living room and into my carmine-and-cream Edouard suite on the ground floor. The outdoor patio was a lovely place to take in views of the vines and UNESCO-listed Saint-Emilion, whose old town centre merits a visit, if only to visit the sub-terranean Monolithic Church and browse among the many gourmet and craft shops.
You can also have a picnic among the vines and tour the winemaking facilities, including the dramatic modern wine cellar with 12-metre-high ceilings. Walking on the glass floors of the overhead bridge with rows of barrels beneath was a breathtaking experience.
Speaking to Gironde over lunch at Les Belles Perdrix, one almost forgets he is not the owner, such is his passion for the estate’s heritage.
“When I first arrived at Troplong Mondot, I had a vision of wine that had the perfect balance between power, which we have a lot here due to the specificity of the land, and great aromatics because I need a wine to be scented like a perfume,” he said, as we sipped a 2012 Troplong Mondot that was mesmerising in its opulent blackcurrant notes.
While other producers fret over the onset of warmer temperatures due to climate change, Gironde is calmly confident that extreme weather conditions would only push the estate’s vines to work harder. He said: “We are well positioned for the changing weather because the lower limestone and upper clay layers act as sponges to gather the winter rains and releases the moisture in the summer when the vines need it.”
Wine geeks who love to trace a vineyard’s evolution will find a marked contrast between the vintages pre- and post 2017. Malolactic fermentation now takes place in stainless steel vats instead of barrels to preserve the freshness. Ageing is now in 60 per cent new oak barrels. A small percentage of wines is aged in 900-litre vats and experimentally in Italian amphorae. And instead of being one of the latest to harvest, it is now among the first.
The 2018 Mondot, the estate’s second label, comprises 100 per cent Merlot grapes, and is fresh, structured and medium-bodied with rich fruits—an easy pairing with everyday meals. The 2016 Troplong Mondot is also fruit forward, with a complex aroma of dark fruits with higher tannins and a long full-bodied finish. On the other hand, the 2019 Troplong Mondot is more elegant with smoother tannins and minerality evoking the land’s limestone and clay layers. Gironde is expecting the 2022 vintage to be “the most amazing vintage we’ve ever made so far” because of three heatwaves experienced last summer that “pushed the vines to use everything in their roots to get water and nutrients”.
Sustainability plays a large part in the food and wine production here.
Last year, Les Belles Perdrix won the Michelin Green Star for its locavore philosophy. Head chef David Charrier has been with the restaurant since 2013 and spearheaded the development of on-site permaculture gardens and partnerships with the best local producers to bring seasonal vivacity to his tasting menus. Morels drizzled with mushroom essence, spider crab with white asparagus and finger lime from the garden, and lamb with pickled carrots were some of the delicious dishes put on the table, with sweet roundups like a peach dessert with the fruit poached, pureed and served as a sorbet along a honey espuma. Pastry chef Adrien Salavert himself was the winner of Michelin Guide’s Passion Dessert accolade in 2020 and 2022, given only to France’s top pastry chefs known for their consistent sustainability and seasonality focus. Last year, to give younger diners access to affordable fine dining, Charrier introduced an “Under 30” four-course menu at €70 paired with a glass of Troplong Mondot wine. It is currently available now until end March 2024.
The land, which has vegetation like mustard, clover and syril interspersed between the vines, is ploughed by horses, leaving the soil less compacted and more naturally aerated for moisture to be retained. “You just need to be patient with them, because they’re living things you know,” said Mathilde, chuckling as we passed a farmhand exclaiming “Allez, allez! (let’s go)” to a relaxed mare who had paused midway in its task.
Patient workers, industrious but carefree horses, vines reaching deep below to absorb all the goodness of a land that has been gently nurtured, and food served garden to table. My stay has been truly magical.