Château Tertre Roteboeuf 2013

A little more elegance this year but still the classic opulence and aromatic complexity. Suave texture and very attractive fruit.

Truffle, barnyard, licorice, espresso bean, black cherry, smoke and jam make up the aromatics. On the palate, the wine is rich, silky and soft, offering a density of flavor, freshness and sweet, ripe plum that was difficult to achieve in this vintage. From yields of 15 hectoliters, the wine blends 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. In 2013, Tertre Roteboeuf was only able to produce 30% of their normal production. The wine reached 13.9% ABV with a pH of 3.8 and is aging in 100% new French oak. Picked between October 16 and October 18, this is one of the latest harvests for this individualistic estate. This would be a good wine any vintage, but in 2913, this is a miracle! 93-95 Pts

Floral notes, violet, exotic spices and sweet red fruit on the nose. A rich, ample palate with a grainy texture, fine notes of chocolate, raspberry and well-integrated oak, a long and intense finish, delicate and suave.

Dark garnet, fairly dense at the core, ruby rim. Ripe plums, mocha tones, licorice and seductive roasted notes. Fine palate, elegant with beautiful balance. For once, a wine that feels light, with gently sweet-toned tannins, finishing with the usual, often perfumed Damassine plum note. A very elegant variant that matches the vintage’s potential perfectly.

MITJAVILLE: FORGOT THE APPOINTMENT We pulled on the bell rope next to the house wall to signal our agreed primeur visit on Sunday morning. But we were kept waiting. After quite a while, François Mitjaville appeared in a bathrobe! He had forgotten our visit and had been sitting by his grandchild’s bed telling fairy tales. Not wanting to keep us waiting, he accompanied us, in his “fairy-tale outfit,” to the cellar to show us his 2013s… Dark garnet, fairly dense in the middle, ruby rim. Ripe plums, mocha tones, licorice, and seductive roasted notes. Fine palate, elegant with beautiful balance. For once, a wine that feels light, with sweetly radiating tannins, finishing with the usual, often perfumed Damassine plum note. A very elegant variation that fits the vintage’s possibilities perfectly.

Silky, creamy, powerful, complex bouquet of blueberries, plums, tobacco, mint, honey, linden blossom, pralines, cocoa. Balanced, dense, multi-layered, Burgundian palate with a creamy texture, diverse, sweet-tinged aromatics, very long, fine, fresh finish with pronounced lingering flavors. Can improve further. 18/20 2018 - 2035

The Tertre Roteboeuf 2013 has a medium garnet color, with a touch of brick. It delivers scents of kirsch, dried cranberries, and dusty soil, with an undercurrent of dried Provence herbs and leather. The medium-bodied palate offers herb-laced dried berries, with a chewy texture and a short, rather unpleasant finish.

A wine of great strength and structure—a rarity for the vintage—with generous breadth and impressively controlled opulence. Once again, François Mitjavile brilliantly showcases Tertre Roteboeuf’s ability to deliver a unique interpretation of so‑called “lesser” vintages!

In this delicate vintage, the wine rises to the occasion, thanks to its legendary silkiness and exceptional density for the year. A fine success.