Château Le Tertre Rôteboeuf, St Emilion Grand Cru,

The texture is the first thing that strikes you here, with pummice stone salinity and an unfussy, luxurious uncurling of flavours that makes you want to pull up a chair and take your time. Plenty of tar, cloves, liqourice and grilled cedar, alongside blackberry and raspberry fruit laced with pomegranate and orange peel bitterness, not avoiding but leaning into the vintage conditions. Confident and full of limestone character, just a beautiful wine from the Mitjavile family in a year full of paradox. Harvest October 1-2. 100% new oak, medium plus toasting, which is where this tar grilling comes from. No crushing of the grapes but full destemming, no cold soaks, unfiltered until just before bottling. 100% of the vineyard always in Tertre Roteboeuf.

The 2022 Tertre Roteboeuf is made from 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, harvested on 1 October. Deep garnet-purple in color, it storms out of the glass with powerful notes of preserved plums, blueberry compote, and fruitcake, followed by suggestions of star anise, cedar chest, wilted roses, and unsmoked cigars. The super-concentrated, opulent, full-bodied palate is jam packed with black fruit preserves and exotic spices, maintaining impressive freshness and finishing very long with a mineral lift. This is a very different expression of the vintage - so Tertre Roteboeuf! pH 3.80-3.85.

The 2022 Tertre-Rôteboeuf is very deep in color. It has a very intense bouquet with Dorset plum, raspberry coulis, touches of fennel and fresh fig. Fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with plenty of structure, pure mulberry, blackberry and raspberry fruit, white pepper and curry leaf. It is a more exotic Saint-Émilion, but I would not describe it as exotic. It's just very Tertre-Rôteboeuf !