Tertre Rôteboeuf 2008

A terrific wine from François Mitjavile, this is a very Burgundian-styled vintage for Tertre Roteboeuf. Crunchy wild berry fruit and incipiently complex notes of earth, cedar and sous bois mingle with a strong cooperage signature (coco, vanilla, coffee) which will need some time in the cellar to integrate. On the palate, crisp acids and supple tannins frame a wine of great intensity and purity. Lovely wine.

The 2008 Le Tertre-Rôteboeuf, now at ten years old, still appears youthful in the glass with little sign of maturation on the rim. The bouquet is similarly surprisingly backward with tightly wound black fruit laced with Earl Grey and subtle autumn leaf aromas, all very well defined. With continued aeration it reveals iris and light peaty scents. The palate is very fresh on the entry with firm tannin. There is a mass to this Saint Émilion that fills the mouth, but there is also striking mineralité...you can feel that limestone after the wine has departed. Yes, there is sinew embroidered into this wine and therefore it will require another four to five years in bottle, but there is so much potential here, one of the best wines of the appellation. Chapeau François Mitjavile. 2018 - 2040

Amazingly dark. Almost outrageously sweet. Such a statement - hence the exclamation mark with the score. This is a wine to love or loathe. François Mitjavile is surely almost teasing us with this eccentric wine. Burnt. Almost porty nose though actually fresh enough on the palate. Exotic, actually enough acid. So sweet it's almost chocolate. But lively too. Graceful and tender. Liquorice, treacle and leather. A remarkable wine.

This has a very well defined nose: maraschino, wild strawberry, a "gourmand" bouquet, something slightly digestive about it. Very pure though. The palate is medium- to full bodied, good acidity, nice weight, bright red fruits but there is something far more deeper within: hoi sin, a irony character that especially comes through on the finish. Good length, very good nervosité on the finish. Excellent. Tasted April 2009.