Château Tertre Roteboeuf 2014

The 2014 Le Tertre Roteboeuf, now in bottle, has a very refined and pure bouquet, with red cherries, wild strawberry and a touch of orange blossom—all very Burgundy-like in style. The palate is very well balanced, with crisp tannin, hints of fig and date infusions that complement the red berry fruit, and a touch of white pepper toward the long finish. This is turning out to be a delicious (as banal as that reads) Le Tertre-Roteboeuf with the tannic structure to suggest that it will give pleasure over the next 20-30 years.

Toasted, bready notes followed by lifted dark fruit. Round and rich but it’s not overdone, with freshness behind. A hint of oak and fine tannin.

Tasted blind. Very nuanced colour with some evolution. Very sweet and oaky on the nose. Very different and rich. Rose petals and soft tannins. Neat. Long. Opulent. Marmite wine. (JR)

Silky, sweet and soft, with fresh fruit focused on ripe cherries, black raspberry, floral notes, and a touch of exotic citrus on the end note. Medium to full-bodied, with a fresh, sweet, rich raspberry note on the finish that really lingers.

The 2014 Tertre Roteboeuf is an exuberant, generous, incredibly sexy wine in a vintage that yielded more classic, straightforward efforts. Boasting a deep ruby/plum color as well as a rockin’ bouquet of espresso, spice box, blackberries, new leather and Asian spice, this ripe, medium- to full-bodied, layered 2014 has terrific purity of fruit as well as an undeniable hedonistic, opulent personality. It’s one of the stronger wines in the vintage and can be drunk now or cellared for 15+ years.

80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. Deep purple, dense at the core, with garnet highlights at the rim. The warmest bouquet of all the Libournais wines tasted. Nowhere else were there so many ripe plums and dried fruits on the nose, backed by a beautiful dose of mocha and delicate truffle notes. On the palate, soft and velvety, with a Chambertin-like texture; the long, gently fading finish shows blackberry and licorice. A voluminous delicacy. For François Mitjaville, it was the latest harvest of his life.

THE DEEPEST VINES IN SAINT-ÉMILION The deeper, the warmer! That’s the formula in which Tertre-Rôteboeuf owner François Mitjaville firmly believes. And on his estate, the vines are trained so low that the clusters sometimes almost touch the ground. The soil warms up during the day and reflects part of that heat at night. This is said to make the grapes particularly ripe. You only see how low his vines really are when you place a Gabriel-Glas (23.5 cm tall) next to them… 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. Deep purple, dense at the core, with garnet glints at the rim. The warmest bouquet of all the Libournais wines tasted. Nowhere else were there so many ripe plums and dried fruits on the nose, backed by a beautiful measure of mocha and delicate truffle notes. On the palate, soft and velvety, with a Chambertin-like texture; the long, gently fading finish shows blackberry and licorice. A voluminous delicacy. For François Mitjaville, it was the latest harvest of his life.

Silky, sweet, creamy, complex bouquet with damson plums, currants, tobacco, delicate dried fruit, herbs, mint and pralines. Densely interwoven, elegant, fresh and multifaceted palate with creamy fruit, a dense, velvety structure, full, dense, fresh aromatics, plenty of fine tannins, and a very long, dense, creamy finish with ample lingering flavors. 18/20 2021 - 2034

The 2014 Tertre Roteboeuf is medium to deep garnet-brick in color. The nose is a tad tired, offering notions of cigar box, new leather, and spice box over a core of fruitcake and prunes. The medium-bodied palate is a little dried out and chewy, with a pleasant savoriness to the finish. Tasted blind with the Southwold Group in London in February 2024.

François Mitjavile does not hide his attraction to late vintages, “with senescent charm and tannins softened by autumn.” His interpretation of the 2014 stands out as much as it captivates, with a sensation of sweet velvet and an aromatic complexity rare for the vintage. Yet the wine remains airy in texture, with an irresistible Dorian Gray side, decadent, with faded violet.

As every year, François Mitjaville manages to preserve his extraordinary silkiness combined with great depth, thanks to his intuition of the vintage. This year, harvesting had to be done late, from October 15 to 20, making it one of the latest in the region. The silkiness is very much present, with just a touch more freshness than usual, recalling the glorious 1988 with a Bourgogne-style savory note. Long ageing expected. 80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc.

Intense garnet red. Intense, expressive bouquet. Notes of fresh candied fruit and coffee, with red fruits evoking raspberry and cherry. Subtle touch of Earl Grey. The palate is dense, round, and fruity. The body perfectly manages the wine’s power and intensity, ideally combining structure and depth. Beautiful fruity intensity on the palate. Firm, granular tannins, well-integrated and in line with the structure. A powerful, juicy, and persistent wine.