Château Tertre Rotebœuf Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2019

[ 2019 Early Tasting Notes: 96 ] This 2019 vintage displays beautiful vitality in its velvety, delightful tannins. The bouquet and flavor are clearly noble. A vintage that suits this estate like a glove.

The 2019 Tertre Roteboeuf is a wonderful achievement by the Mitjaville family. This amphitheater-shaped vineyard on the clay-limestone slopes of Saint-Laurent-des-Combes, planted with low-growing, cordon-trained vines, has produced a striking wine that bursts from the glass with aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry, and cherry mingled with notes of violet, cigar box, sweet spices, and loamy earth. Full-bodied, layered, and concentrated, with a deep core of fruit, velvety tannins, and lively acidity, it will richly reward a decade or more of bottle aging. Interestingly, owner François Mitjaville noted that the rainfall pattern in 2019 tended to reverse the usual stylistic distinction between Tertre Roteboeuf and Roc de Cambes, his Côtes de Bourg wine; yet, on the day of our tasting, geology prevailed over the weather,

This is the most accomplished wine in the Bordeaux trilogy of recent years. The 2019’s radiant subtlety evokes dense, dark, unrestrained, full-bodied, and rich fruit, reflecting the vintage. On the palate, although it has a candied quality, it hints at its potential dynamism; however, for now—and due to a lack of aging—the young tannins remain angular.

There are no bad vintages in this amphitheater-shaped vineyard, the birthplace of the unconventional Saint-Émilion produced by the Mitjavile family. The viticulture here is unlike any other: requiring one worker per hectare, it draws on a wide range of methods. The very low training system of the vines, combined with the warmth of the soil, allows for a long ripening period for the grapes, and the extensive leaf area promotes photosynthesis. Since ripeness is pushed to the very limit—to the extreme—before the grapes descend into chaos, the vineyard’s growth cycle is unlike that of other estates! In 2019, for example, they harvested the entire crop on October 5. In the cellar, uniqueness reigns: just one wine; one cooper, Radoux. Concrete tanks, no yeast, no refrigeration, new oak, fining if necessary (which is rare, given the long aging periods), a light racking from time to time—why not? François Mitjavile and his daughter Nina (who also runs Roc de Cambes, in the Côtes de Bourg, on her own) don’t belong to any particular school of thought; they draw from all of them to produce something exceptional.