Château Tertre Roteboeuf 2020

This is powerful, deeply focused and intense. Plenty of spice, cassis pastille, intense muscular tannins, fairly closed and austere right now, but a real sense of lift and juice becomes clear after 10 minutes in the glass. Harvest began on September 21st, the earliest since Mitjavile arrived at the estate. Recently had the beautiful 1998 of Tertre Roteboeuf, and it is easy to see that this vintage will also allow the limestone terroir to become clearer with bottle age.

85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc. 33 hl/ha. Harvested 22–25 September, one of the earliest ever. Cask sample. Seductive and just a little decadent as always en primeur, with a mix of toasted, mocha notes from the oak and red-berry fruit. Dense, rich and ripe on the palate, the ripeness pushed just to the limit. Supple tannins but a structure for ageing, the alcohol offset by a stony freshness. (JL)

The 2020 Tertre-Rôteboeuf is stunning. It’s not quite the 2016, but it comes awfully close. Who knows in time where this will go? A vibrant, explosive Saint-Émilion, the 2020 Tertre-Rôteboeuf sizzles with tension and energy. Black cherry, gravel, spice, espresso and chocolate stain the palate with tremendous intensity and sheer nuance. Tightly wound and full of energy, the 2020 is simply magnificent. What a wine!

Opulent, exotic, and sensuously textured, the perfectly ripe, deep fruits are intense, sweet, fresh, long, spicy, and earthy, with an opulent texture. There is intensity along with opulence and purity in every sip. This uniquely styled wine stands out in a crowd and should age and evolve for at least two decades or more with little effort. Drink from 2026–2048.

Another absolutely perfect wine in this incredible vintage, the 2020 Château Tertre Roteboeuf comes from a tiny hillside vineyard (5.6 hectares) and is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc raised all in new Radoux barrels. This show-stopping wine has everything and reveals a dense purple hue, incredible aromatics of cassis, vanilla bean, burning embers, graphite, and smoke tobacco, full-bodied richness, flawless integration of its tannins and acidity, and a massive finish. The finest wine I've ever tasted from this address, it's not going to hit maturity for another 7-8 years and will be a 30+-year wine. Hats off to the team of François Mitjavile for another singular, sexy, absolutely off-the-charts wine.

Extremely dark purple with a black core and a delicate purple rim. Densely interwoven bouquet of wild cherry, rosewood and licorice. On the second nose, dark chocolate truffles, refined cassis spice and Dominican tobacco. Complex palate with a creamy texture, a tight cocoa-like tannic framework, vibrant drive and a perfectly sculpted body. In the cascading finish, a thunderclap of small black berries, deep dark minerality and exotic wood. He never fails to excite us – thank you François Mitjaville, 19+!

Kunz barrel sample 2021: concentrated, complex, sweet, creamy bouquet, strawberry jelly, blueberry jam, dark pralines, nougat, dried fruits, After Eight, fine black tea. Densely interwoven, multi-layered, creamy palate with powerful, sweet fruit, plenty of fine tannins, concentrated, varied, explosive aromatics, creamy, delicately muscular structure, very long, powerful finish with many lingering flavors.

Concentrated, complex, sweet, creamy bouquet; strawberry jelly, blueberry jam, dark chocolates, nougat, dried fruits, After Eight, fine black tea. Densely woven, multi-layered, creamy palate with powerful, sweet fruit, plenty of fine tannins, concentrated, varied, explosive aromatics, creamy, delicately muscular structure, very long, powerful finish with many lingering aromas. 20/20 2026 - 2050

95-96