Château Tertre Roteboeuf 2015

True to style: plush and approachable with an enticing aromatic complexity. Super ripe fruit but fresh and floral at the same time. Palate rich and suave but harmonious, the plentiful tannins smooth and long.

A heady, exotic wine, the 2015 Tertre-Rôteboeuf exudes richness and intensity. Super-ripe dark cherry, plum, espresso, chocolate, spice and licorice infuse this voluptuous, racy Saint-Émilion. Dense, powerful and explosive, it just gets better and better with time in the glass. Super-ripe cherry and plum fruit are laced with scents of tobacco, licorice, incense and white truffle that add nuance. What a gorgeous wine this is! Proprietor François Mitjavile isn't afraid to be a contrarian. While many estates opt for shorter aging, Mitjavile gives his wine two full years in 100% new oak and also keeps the cellar on the warm side during the winter months. The 2015 was bottled in September 2017.

From the get-go, this is so sexy. Voluptuous, sensuous, silky and exotic, the fruit is perfectly ripe. There is concentration and lift, with a perfume you cannot get enough of. On the palate, the red fruits offer intensity, purity and length. This will age and develop for at least 20 years or more without effort.

80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. Deep purple-garnet, dense at the core, with lilac glints at the rim. Both elegant and full-bodied, showing an irrepressible sweetness. Crust of dark bread, cold black tea, ripe plums, and light chocolate notes in the background. On the palate, it clearly opens with Darjeeling notes, then follows with licorice and black berries, showing a fleshy texture, and finishes in a lofty, long finale with blueberry pulp and elderberry notes. A moving wine that nearly defines a class of its own. But Tertre-Rôteboeuf has fortunately always been somehow different.

80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. Deep purple-garnet, dense at the core with a violet rim. Both elegant and generous, showing an irrepressible sweetness. Notes of dark bread crust, cold black tea, ripe plums, and light milk-chocolate hints in the background. On the palate it clearly opens with Darjeeling notes, then unfolds with licorice and black berries, shows a fleshy texture, and finishes with a lofty, long finale of blueberry pulp and elderberry notes. A moving wine that almost defines its own class. But Tertre-Rôteboeuf has fortunately always been, in some way, different.

(80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc) Dense, velvety, complex, sweet, fresh, Burgundian bouquet; damson plums, subtle dried fruit, tobacco, pralines, mint, a touch of licorice. Balanced, tightly knit, elegant, multi-layered palate with powerful, sweet, refined fruit, plenty of fine tannins, creamy texture, varied, dense aromatics, and a very long, dense, full, fresh finish with ample echoing flavors. 19/20 2024 - 2045

The 2015 Tertre Roteboeuf is medium to deep garnet in color. It bursts with a first wave of profound black fruit preserves—prunes, boysenberries, and blackberry jelly—before slowly unfurling to reveal notes of chargrill, tapenade, crushed rocks, and violets with a waft of fallen leaves. Full-bodied, the palate is completely filled with dense, earth-laced black fruit layers, supported by exquisitely ripe, fine-grained tannins and fantastic tension, finishing long and minerally. Very energetic and so singularly powerful, fans of this property will not want to miss this vintage! "2016 was hotter and has more alcohol, but it seems more graceful, while the 2015 seems more powerful," commented Francois Mitjaville. "There are flavors of youth, maturity and age. This 2015 is slowly heading towards maturity. The wine is evolving but maintains the energy of the fruit. The real aging flavors come through after 20 or 30 years. At one moment the wine can seem completely dead, but then it isn't. The 1989 is now entering the aging flavors."

An exceptional moment with very precise, silky tannins and a progression full of freshness.

The 2015 immediately displays all the bold voluptuousness that made this growth famous: a striking expression of candied violet, a hint of iris and roasted meat. Like the rustle of a dark velvet cape, but without the extravagance or sweetness of the 2010. On the contrary, this is a wine of structure, length and balance, finishing clean and decisive.

A vintage like 2015, which requires not only attention but also foresight, is tailor-made for François Mitjaville, who has delivered his usual velvety interpretation, this time with an extra touch of freshness and, above all, an exceptional density that will stand the test of time. While the flowering date suggested a harvest around September 20, the grapes were not picked until October 10—later than everyone else. Remarkable, despite viticulture that leaves something to be desired.

Deep garnet red with purplish highlights. An intense, complex bouquet revealing notes of chalk, smoked bacon, coffee, blueberries and black cherries. Dense, appetizing character on the attack. The wine has body, richness and a structure that gives it breed and freshness. What a beautiful harmony between power, charm and finesse. A characterful finish, long and persistent. Tight tannins with very fine grain. A beautiful symbiosis between fruit and structure. A truly great wine.

The nose is fruity, fine, delicate, elegant and suave. It reveals notes of blackberry jam and Quetsche plum, combined with subtle notes of chocolate and toasted oak, a very slight hint of cherry, as well as a discreet/fine note of mocha and tonka bean. The palate is fruity, gourmet, precise, fine, vibrant, silky, balanced, elegant, suave, complex, refined, and offers lovely freshness, tension, supple texture, great delicacy and an appealing mouthfeel. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of juicy blackberry and blackcurrant with a touch of fresh blueberry cream, joined by delicate hints of small red fruits/raspberry, licorice, oak, a hint of plum, and very subtle touches of cornflower and Bourbon vanilla. The tannins are fine and elegant. Good length and persistence.