The 2004 Tertre Roteboeuf has been uncorked

[marcs]

Surprisingly tannic when opened. Also surprisingly classic seeming for a TR.

With time, that milk chocolate sweetness comes to the fore, which to me is a TR signature

[marcs]

Man, TR signature is a certain kind of sweetness. As this opens up, the sweetness is front and center on the nose, front and center on the palate. And this in a cool year too!

[marcs]

Sweetness for me is often a negative note on a wine. Indicating a cloying and unbalanced quality. But not with Tertre Roteboeuf. I find this producer almost compulsively drinkable. Best I can describe it as that the sweetness is extremely well integrated with other elements of the wine. Yes, it’s front and center in a way but there is also the leafiness and earthiness I look for in Bordeaux, that’s all there too and just as integral to the wine.

[marcs]

Also, what a good food match. At least for the (overly) salty restaurant takeout I was having. The salt and sweet cancel out perfectly and the wine catches the food and lifts it up.

This bottle completes most of a batch I got of 2004 and 2011 Tertre Roteboeuf and every single bottle has been very good, just very fun to drink. It’s almost like TR is the version of new world wine I’d like to have - reliably rich, fruity, and sweet but also herbal and mineral complexities underneath and a well balanced acidity and structure holding it up and making you want another sip

[marcs]

People often call TR Burgundian, which I’ve always found a bit odd since I think both Bordeaux and Merlot are very different than Burgundy/Pinot. But I think I get more why now - certain Burgundies have this knack for combining up-front sweetness with complexity and earthiness. TR manages the same trick

[Nicklasss]

Not a wine i had so often, but the 1988, 1989 and 2001 have been all excellent to me. And i would agree marcs, that among all Red Bordeaux, Tertre Roteboeuf has it's very own specific character, that i would described like very ripe grape, with a very traditional winemaking. The velvet character, with strong complexity and well integrated oak, superbly drinkable.

[AKR]

People often call TR Burgundian, which I’ve always found a bit odd since I think both Bordeaux and Merlot are very different than Burgundy/Pinot. But I think I get more why now - certain Burgundies have this knack for combining up-front sweetness with complexity and earthiness. TR manages the same trick

I don't understand those kinds of comparisons either. I suppose if it was qualified by saying 'their viticulture or cellar techniques are Burgundian' it might make more sense. But the end products don't seem comparable at all to me.

[marcs]

I was saying it now makes more sense to me in a rough metaphorical sense - TR manages to be very smooth and sweet while still retaining herbal/leafy complexity, that’s usually a Pinot noir character. Merlot is always heavier though

Going to try a 2015 TR later this spring, if they overdo it and lose balance in any vintage I imagine it would be that one

[JoelD]

Interesting note. I agree with a lot of your preferences so I’m curious if I would enjoy this wine or not. I had considered picking up some 1998 or 2000 to try. I wonder if this is a wine that does better (for people with more classical Bordeaux tastes) in the more renowned or the off vintages?

[marcs]

I'll be interested to see if you like it Joel. It really is sweet -- almost a bit of the feel of a very well aged Port (that soft sweetness, but not the alcohol). But at the same time the other elements of complexity are there for me, it doesn't have that cloying supermarket-wine quality or anonymity I get with a lot of super-sweet wines, and it works with food.

William Kelley loves Tertre Roteboeuf, here's a good piece he wrote on it:

https://wfkelley.com/2016/12/11/inimita ... roteboeuf/

An interesting comment from Mitjavile here:

"Mitjavile contends that [his] terroir is therefore disposed to produce wines of advanced maturity which retain vibrancy and freshness, seeking fruit which is, as he so eloquently puts it, ‘sumptuously degraded’ while remaining ‘fresh and dynamic’"

That feels true to my experience -- the sumptuous sur-maturite quality is there but it remains a dynamic and interesting wine.

Also an interesting comment from Kelley -- "This unusual marriage between fruit picked at the peak of ripeness and rather old-fashioned, moderately oxidative élevage is arguably the decisive human factor in Tertre Rotebœuf’s singularity" -- they pick super-ripe but also rack frequently so the winemaking is rather oxidative and adds complexity.

As for whether it does better in cooler vintages, interesting question. It's true that Mitjavile has a rep for being good in off vintages, but some of the most celebrated vintages are in 'big' years (see Kelley rating the 2010 at 100 points). I've had the 2004 and 2011 and have a 2017 set aside to age, but will also be trying the 2015. Based on my experience with the 2004 and 2011, I think that it's never exactly a classical left bank feel whatever vintage you get, as Mitjavile hangs the grapes longer in cooler years and it's a warm site. You kind of have to like the style as opposed to wanting it to be something it's not. I don't know if they end up overdoing it in warm years, but I think Mitjavile is known for trying to strike a good balance. The 2000 has an excellent reputation. Kelley's review of that year from the link above notes that "Few winemakers can manage ripeness and high levels of new oak so deftly, entirely avoiding the sucrosity, back-end heat and uncovered oak tannins that mar so many modern Saint-Emilions."

[JimHow]

What vintage of this did I bring to Denver, I think it was the '89. It was advanced maturity, alright, ready for the grave.
I recall enjoying the 95 and 98 back in the day, but don't otherwise recall drinking this wine other than the over the hill experience in Denver with the 89.

[Racer Chris]

I had a bottle of the '89 two years ago. It didn't move me.

[Dionysus]

The 14 is meant to be something special FWIW...haven't been able to source any on this side of the pond unfortunately.

[DavidG]

I see a number of listings for the 2014 in Europe on Wine Searcher.
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/le+t ... 014/europe

[Dionysus]

I see a number of listings for the 2014 in Europe on Wine Searcher.
https://www.wine-searcher.com/find/le+t ... 014/europe

Thanks David. Unfortunately a lot of those won't ship to Ireland, and definitely in the measly quantities I'd by buying

There's some new listings there though so will find something that will work.

[AKR]

The 1990 was fabulous at age 15 or so.

[greatbxfreak]

Guys,

I have known Francois Mitjaville since 1987.

He is a true magician in winemaking.

Yes, he harvests late, but he doesn't harvest grapes overripe.

Yes, his wine can remind one of a Grand Cru Burgundy because of the silkiness and purity.

One of the secrets of TR is that he put all kinds of grapes into tanks for maceration and fermentation, green grapes, not ripe grapes, ripe grapes and raisin-like grapes. Why he does that - his explanation to me when I asked about the purpose of doing things like that was - "Izak, I want to have as many different flavours in my wine, which give an excellent complexity to it".

Yes, he makes wines with high alcohol due to his vineyard's location, but there is so much fruit in his wine that it absorbs it.

TR has always been one of my all-time favourite wines!