2019 Château Tertre Roteboeuf

The 2019 Le Tertre Roteboeuf is a terrific success from the Mitjaville family. This amphitheatrical vineyard on the clay-limestone slopes of Saint-Laurent-des-Combes, planted with low, cordon-trained vines, has delivered a striking wine that wafts from the glass with aromas of cassis, blackberries and cherries mingled with notions of violets, cigar box, sweet spices and loamy soil. Full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with a deep core of fruit, velvety tannins and lively acids, it will richly reward a decade and more of bottle age. Interestingly, proprietor François Mitjaville contended that 2019's distribution of rainfall had tended to invert the usual stylistic distinction between Tertre Roteboeuf and Roc de Cambes, his wine from the Côtes de Bourg; yet, on the day of our tasting, geology trumped weather, because as usual the former was more sensual, the latter blockier and more structured.

The 2019 Tertre-Rôteboeuf has an intriguing bouquet that requires some time to open in the glass, revealing a mixture of red and black fruit, enticing scents of melted tar and black truffle, and a touch of licorice, the latter becoming more and more noticeable with aeration. The medium-bodied palate delivers pliant tannins, sensual, slightly savory red fruit mixed with white pepper, sage and red peppercorns, and a touch of tobacco on the finish. This fans out wonderfully, lingering long in the mouth. Superb.