Château Tertre Roteboeuf 1985

Tasting Notes and Serving Suggestions for Château Tertre Roteboeuf 1985

Tasting

Color

The color reveals a light ruby hue with a pale rim, reflecting the wine’s evolution while retaining beautiful clarity.

Nose

The nose captivates with its purity and complexity. It opens on aromas of small red cherries, kirsch, and rose petals, complemented by mineral notes. With aeration, the bouquet moves toward deeper nuances, unveiling medicinal touches and an enchanting softness that speak to the wine’s maturity.

Palate

On the palate, the wine charms with its remarkable balance and a velvety texture that glides gracefully across the palate. Freshness and softness intertwine harmoniously, carried by refined, well-integrated tannins. The fruit remains present and vibrant, delivering impressive concentration without heaviness. The finish stands out for its length and persistence, with a freshness that lingers pleasantly.

Food and Wine Pairing

This Château Tertre Roteboeuf 1985 pairs beautifully with fine red meats such as roast beef or braised lamb. It also matches elegantly with game preparations, dishes featuring wild mushrooms and truffles. Aged hard cheeses are also an excellent pairing.

Serving and Cellaring

This wine is best enjoyed at a temperature of 15 to 16°C. Decanting is not necessary given the wine’s age; it is preferable to let it open gently in the glass for about ten minutes. Château Tertre Roteboeuf 1985 has reached optimal maturity and can be enjoyed now.

The finesse and balance of a Saint-Émilion wine

The estate

Located in Saint-Laurent-des-Combes within the Saint-Émilion appellation, Château Tertre Roteboeuf spans 6 hectares of hillside vineyards on south/southeast-facing clay-limestone slopes. Taken over in the late 1970s by François Mitjavile, who now runs the estate with his wife Émilie, the property stands out for its artisanal approach to viticulture: very low-trained vines, grass cover, late hand-harvesting, fermentation without added yeasts, and extended aging in new oak barrels—revealing the most accomplished expression of Bordeaux hillside wines.

The vineyard

The Château Tertre Roteboeuf vineyard enjoys a privileged setting on the southern slope of Saint-Émilion, in Saint-Laurent-des-Combes. The plots unfold in an amphitheater across south–southeast-facing hillsides, ensuring optimal sun exposure. The terroir rests on clay-limestone soils typical of the appellation, lending the wines a distinctive mineral structure. The vines, over forty years old at the time of the 1985 vintage, are farmed according to a respectful philosophy that favors naturally low yields and harvesting at optimal ripeness.

The vintage

The 1985 vintage in Bordeaux began with a harsh winter and a cool spring, delaying the growing cycle. June brought more favorable conditions, followed by a warm, humid July that accelerated vine development. August remained relatively cool, but September proved decisive, with a spell of dry weather and intense heat that enabled exceptional ripeness. These conditions particularly favored Merlot, the dominant grape variety at Tertre Roteboeuf, producing grapes of remarkable concentration and quality.

Winemaking and aging

Château Tertre Roteboeuf 1985 marked a turning point in the estate’s history, as the first vintage to benefit from aging in new French oak barrels. That year, François Mitjavile introduced 50% new barrels, an innovation that contributed to the wine’s complexity and structure. Fermentation took place in concrete vats with high fermentation temperatures and the use of indigenous yeasts. Extended maceration allowed for optimal extraction of aromatic and tannic compounds. Aging continued for around twenty-two months in barrels, with regular rackings encouraging harmonious oak integration and the wine’s evolution.

Grape varieties

Merlot (80%)
Cabernet franc (20%)