Tertre Rôteboeuf 2017

Dynamic, graceful and refreshing, this is a stellar vintage for Tertre Roteboeuf on account of the unique vintage conditions. It is so packed with flavour and yet this is a fabulously tender and musical wine. It is very rare to find this balance – a cold summer, but which also has perfect ripening has resulted in a rich and hedonistic wine but with a core of coolness and vivacity. A wine that is full of anomalous traits, this is a spectacular experience because there is so much going on, constantly twisting and turning around a core of exquisite freshness. I could still taste it an hour later.

The 2017 Tertre-Rôteboeuf was picked towards the end of September (François Mitjavile said he was getting too old to remember!) The bouquet is a real doppelgänger for a Burgundy, perhaps something from Morey-Saint-Denis. It is certainly very pure, not as flamboyant as the previous two vintages but intense and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, grainy tannin. I love the salinity of this 2017...you can feel the mouth tingling long after the wine has departed. The acidity is very well judged, the oak seamlessly integrated and barely perceptible, a feat that I do not think any other Saint-Émilion achieves to the same degree as here. There are notes of sea salt and black pepper towards the finish, just a hint of tobacco. Both delicious and cerebral, this is a Tertre-Rôteboeuf that will benefit from four or five years in bottle. Drink 2023-2036.

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2017 Le Tertre Roteboeuf offers up gorgeous wild blueberries, crushed blackcurrants and redcurrants notes with touches of lavender, violets, Sichuan pepper and cloves plus a waft of anise. The medium to full-bodied palate is very firm with ripe, grainy tannins and wonderful freshness and depth, finishing very long with some exotic spices coming through.