2023 Tertre Roteboeuf

The 2023 Tertre-Rôteboeuf is a raw, powerful wine that is still coming together. It possesses notable textural depth and potent tannins to match. The 2023 was bottled in mid-August, quite a bit later than most Right Bank wines, but on the earlier side here. That makes me think this has begun to shut down, despite its considerable textural presence and power. I would give the 2023 a few years in bottle. Tertre-Rôteboeuf remains one of the most idiosyncratic wines in all of Bordeaux.

Gorgeous cassis, liquid violets, spicy wood, sweet tobacco, graphite, and Asian spice notes all emerge from the 2023 Château Tertre Roteboeuf, a rich, medium to full-bodied Saint-Émilion with a graceful, layered, balanced profile, ripe tannins, and beautifully integrated oak. It has a brilliant sense of minerality and is a classic wine from this family. I love it even today given its balance and purity, yet it's going to age for 30 years if well stored. Drink 2026-2055.

The 2023 Tertre-Rôteboeuf has a very attractive bouquet with pure red cherry, crushed strawberry and cough-candy scents that are well-defined, perhaps a little Grenache-like in style. The palate is medium-bodied with a savory opening. Meat juices infuse the red-berry fruit, a little Provençal herb and allspice toward the nicely composed finish. A typical Tertre-Rôteboeuf, which is no bad thing.