Roc de Cambes 2021

Tasting Notes and Serving Tips for Roc de Cambes 2021

Tasting

Color

Deep purple with garnet-black highlights, the color reflects the wine’s remarkable fruit concentration.

Nose

The nose reveals striking intensity, with aromas of ripe dark fruit: blackcurrant, black cherries, blackberries, and blueberries. These fruity notes gradually give way to nuances of sweet spices, blood orange zest, roasted coffee, and licorice. A remarkable freshness and subtle minerality define the bouquet, with hints of violet and cocoa emerging with aeration.

Palate

The palate charms with its outstanding balance and overall elegance. The attack reveals a velvety, silky texture, with generous blackcurrant, cherry, and blueberry fruit. The tannins are fine, powdery, and perfectly integrated, never overpowering. The mid-palate offers lovely structure and concentrated richness, balanced by refreshing acidity. The finish lingers at length with a slightly saline note typical of limestone terroirs, along with persistent spicy nuances.

Food and Wine Pairings

This wine pairs beautifully with grilled or roasted red meats, game such as venison or wild boar, as well as fine poultry like duck prepared with rich sauces. It also elegantly complements aged cheeses with medium to pronounced character.

Serving and Cellaring

Roc de Cambes 2021 is best enjoyed at a temperature between 16 and 18°C. Two hours of aeration in a decanter is recommended for young bottles. This wine can be enjoyed from 2025-2026 and will continue to evolve until around 2036, with an optimal peak around 2029-2030.

An elegant Côtes de Bourg wine with exceptional depth

The Estate

Purchased in 1988 by François Mitjavile and his wife Émilie, Château Roc de Cambes has become a leading reference for the Côtes de Bourg appellation. Also owners of Tertre Roteboeuf in Saint-Émilion, the Mitjavile family farms twelve hectares of vines on a natural amphitheater overlooking the Gironde estuary. Today, their daughter Nina Mitjavile runs the estate, carrying on a distinctive, nonconformist winegrowing philosophy centered on patience, observation, and respect for the terroir. Roc de Cambes produces deep, profound wines that regularly rival the classified growths of Saint-Émilion.

The Vineyard

The Château Roc de Cambes vineyard spans twelve hectares of clay-limestone hillsides with an ideal southern and southwestern exposure. Located along the edge of the Gironde estuary in the Côtes de Bourg appellation, this exceptional terroir benefits from a temperate microclimate regulated by the proximity of the water. The vines, averaging forty-five to fifty years of age, are farmed using sustainable practices with permanent grass cover between the rows. Cordon de Royat pruning, uncommon in the Bordeaux region, naturally regulates vine vigor. Yields deliberately limited to thirty-five to forty hectoliters per hectare ensure optimal concentration.

The Vintage

The year 2021 proved challenging for the Bordeaux wine region. After a rainy winter, the early spring exposed the vines to devastating frosts in early April. A gloomy, cool, rainy summer created difficult ripening conditions, with significant downy mildew pressure. Fortunately, a timely late season beginning in late August accelerated ripening. A rain-free September and an exceptional October—the sunniest since 1991—provided ideal conditions to complete the harvest. The grapes reached excellent ripeness while preserving remarkable acidity, creating complex, highly appealing balances.

Winemaking and Aging

The Roc de Cambes 2021 harvest is carried out entirely by hand, exceptionally late to allow the grapes to reach optimal ripeness. Double sorting, first in the vineyard and then at the winery, ensures only the finest fruit is selected. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentations take place in concrete vats without commercial yeasts, with slow, gentle extraction preserving aromatic finesse. Aging is carried out in French oak barrels from Radoux cooperage, with a proportion of new oak adapted to the vintage. This respectful, traditional approach yields wines recognized for their aromatic intensity and their ability to improve over time.

Grape Varieties

Merlot (80%)
Cabernet sauvignon (20%)