Tertre Rôteboeuf, St Emilion Grand Cru, 2016
Tasting Francois Mitjavile's Tertre Roteboeuf is always one of the highlights of the primeur week. He has a unique philosophy and often harvests later than the accepted norm, but his wines are never jammy or OTT, they always have a generosity (even in the most challenging vintages), notes of coffee bean and scorched earth as well as vibrant fruit and lift. Freshness is very important - Francois defies logic by harvesting fully ripe fruit yet there is always acidity which makes his wines harmonious and enticing. The 2016 is a glorious example with such superb texture, wonderful expressive and seductive fruit, tobacco smoke, spice, mocha, layers of decadent sweet fruit. There's no mistaking this as anything other than a splendid, classical Mitjavile wine that caresses the mouth with waves of exuberant fruit and gloriously tactile tannins. A joy to taste.
critic reviews
The 2016 Tertre Rôteboeuf has a high-toned, rather oaky bouquet that comes across like a Saint-Emilion from the 1990s. It is not unattractive per se and improves dramatically in the glass (indeed, not knowing that Tertre-Rôteboeuf was in this flight, I misread the wine). The palate is rich on the entry, sweet black fruit cloaked in dark chocolate with just a little sous-bois on the finish. Tasted blind at the Southwold 10-Year-On tasting.
Tertre Roteboeuf 2016 has a deep garnet color, with a touch of purple. It gallops out of the glass with bold, energetic notes of crushed blackberries, plum preserves, and fruitcake, leading to nuances of charcuterie, licorice, dried roses, and tar with a waft of Sichuan pepper. Full-bodied, the palate delivers a profound explosion of black fruits and savory waves, framed by firm yet ripe, grainy tannins and compelling freshness, finishing very long with a peppery kick.
The 2016 Le Tertre Roteboeuf is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc cropped at 35 hectoliters per hectare between 14-18 October. This year I was hosted by Francois' daughter Nina Mitjavile, who has been working alongside her father for several years. It has a wonderful bouquet, very pure and fresh. I anticipated that Francois Mitjavile might have been tempted to pick a little later like others, but it was an assiduous decision to have the fruit in the vat by the 18 October and lock in that freshness. The palate is very well balanced with fine tannin, extremely well judged acidity, the new oak present at the moment but in proportion with the fruit. This is a stylish Le Tertre-Roteboeuf, very sensual and luxuriant with layers of crushed strawberry, blood oranges and raspberry fruit. In a word...irresistible.