Chateau Troplong Mondot 1979 (1x75cl)

Right bank, so Merlot leads rather than Cabernet - which usually means a rounder, softer shape than a Medoc wine of the same age. This one is a 1979, so it's carrying more than forty-five years.

Bottles this old vary and there's no reading the condition from outside the glass, so go in with that in mind. Stand it upright for a couple of days, open it slowly at the table, and pour carefully off the sediment. A birth-year or anniversary bottle more than a casual one.

Tasting notes

Merlot-led Saint-Emilion typically shows plum and dark cherry when young with a plush texture. After nearly five decades you'd usually expect dried fruit, cocoa, tobacco, truffle and forest floor, with tannins fully resolved and a short window once the bottle is open.