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Wine Description
The Story
La Mondotte dates back to the early 19th century. Cocks & Féret ("Bordeaux and its Wines"), mention it in their second edition in 1868. It is thus entirely untrue that La Mondotte was "created" in 1996, as one sometimes hears. During the 1996 revision of the Saint-Emilion Classification, the commission ruled that La Mondotte needed to have its own separate winemaking facility. Up until then, the wine was made at Château Canon La Gaffelière, albeit in a separate location. Major investments were made to satisfy the commission's requirement... for a 4.5 hectares vineyard !
In 1983, Joseph-Hubert von Neipperg asked one of his children to take charge of Canon La Gaffelière. At age 26, Stephan had a solid background in finance, management, and agronomy thanks to his education not only in Germany, but also in Paris and Montpellier. The time had come for this well-read young man passionately interested in history and classical music to focus his energies on his family's outstanding terroir in Bordeaux. Stephan von Neipperg spent the next two years becoming intimately acquainted with the estate. He discovered the countless operations necessary to make wine, "a unique and emotional product". He continues to perfect his mastery of the many facets of winemaking, from the vineyard to the cellar, as well as ageing in barrel and in bottle, and international sales and marketing. As opposed to other agricultural products, Stephan von Neipperg believes that "added value in wine is always rewarded". He therefore decided to take a path from which he has never since deviated: to make the most of his terroir and to adopt a long-term approach.
Excellent hydric regulation encourages the vines to sink their roots deep into the soil. The superb sun exposure and fine natural drainage due to the steep slope make this a very early-maturing terroir. The vines are an average of 50 years old and the vineyard contains only premium grape varieties (75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc).
All cellar practices at the Comtes von Neipperg estates are quality-oriented. Special care is taken during maceration so that extraction is as gentle and controlled as possible. The major challenge is to adapt extraction to the specific characteristics of each vintage. Both alcoholic fermentation and maceration take place in oak vats in order to develop maximum colour and flavour. Each vat is considered a separate entity and treated accordingly. The cap is punched down (pigeage) very slowly to avoid treating the grapes roughly. The philosophy behind all stages of winemaking is to make the most of the fruit and express the best from each vintage.
Vintage 2000
BORDEAUX 2000 – UN MILLÉSIME DE RÊVE
Conditions météorologiques / Le millésime 2000 a été proclamé dès le début comme l’un des meilleurs millésimes des temps modernes. Au printemps 2003, j’ai eu de nombreuses occasions de découvrir si nous avions vraiment un vrai millésime de rêve entre nos mains.
Lors des vendanges 2000, en faisant une « inspection personnelle » dans les vignes, j’ai remarqué que quelque chose d’extraordinaire était en route. Les raisins avaient l’air extrêmement sains.
Pendant que la table de tri roulait, j’ai observé qu’il y avait peu de feuilles, de tiges et de mauvaises herbes parmi les raisins. C’est pourquoi le tri des raisins s’est déroulé si facilement et rapidement. Ce doit être l’une des caractéristiques du millésime 2000, car normalement même les grands millésimes demandent beaucoup de travail à la table de tri.
Le millésime 2000 est un Bordeaux classique, extravagant et extrêmement long avec des vins sombres et extrêmement denses, qui ont une énorme concentration de fruits, de longueur et de tanins superbement concentrés. Le tanin n’est pas autorisé à dominer, car il est bien enveloppé par les fruits. Un parfum de sous-maturité n’est présent que dans quelques vins. L’une des marques de fabrique de ce millésime est un arôme intense et profond de baies noires, comme les bleuets, les mûres et les cerises noires.
Tous les cépages rouges ont atteint une maturité parfaite, y compris le cépage le plus capricieux et indiscipliné de Bordeaux, le Petit Verdot. Petit Verdot apporte aux vins l’apport tant attendu de l’épine dorsale et de la puissance.
De plus, les raisins pour les blancs, comme le Sauvignon Blanc, le Sémillon et la Muscadelle, mûrissaient parfaitement et produisaient des vins blancs secs extrêmement fins. Les vins blancs liquoreux se sont malheureusement transformés en quelques vins légers, élégants et charmants, basés à 100% sur les vendanges de septembre. À partir du 11 octobre, il a beaucoup plu à Bordeaux et cela s’est poursuivi jusqu’à la fin de l’année.
