You’ll never have another Saint-Émilion—or another Bordeaux, really—quite like the mythical Tertre Roteboeuf. Only the most hardcore Bordeaux fanatics are privy to this ‘against the grain’ estate, and, still, many have yet to taste it. Scour the internet, flip through your wine magazines—you’ll find nothing but glowing reviews for François’ Tertre Roteboeuf, but Antonio Galloni sums up the 2014 release best, calling it “...one of the most deeply personal, intriguing wines in Saint-Émilion.”
Just one wine is crafted at Tertre Roteboeuf and, with absolutely zero exceptions, each one has always been an honest and breathtaking expression of the vintage year (2014 was a fantastic one!). Since its beginnings in the late-1970s, this singular estate has seen much praise on par with, and above, the exorbitantly priced châteaux of Saint-Émilion, yet it has largely evaded center stage. François Mitjavile, the eccentric owner behind this distinguished estate, has never altered the style of his wines, instead, he relies on terroir, weather, and his small handful of hillside vines to produce intense, ripe fruit. The result is a Bordeaux that soars past its contemporaries in terms of richness and depth, but maintains a level of purity and transparency that many say has an almost Burgundian quality. Though we only have a small amount of 2014 Tertre Roteboeuf to offer today, we’re able to do so at an exceptionally good price. If you want to experience an unforgettable Bordeaux, now is your chance, but at a limit of three per person until it inevitably sells out.
François’ wife, Miloute, is the reason Tertre Roteboeuf is in existence today. She inherited her father’s 18th-century estate, “Le Tertre” in 1961, but at the time there was no one to oversee it, so everything slowly faded away. Upon meeting François at the property—which, at the time, was functioning as an occasional holiday house run by Miloute’s cousins—the pair married shortly after, in 1971. After years of tension between both sides of the family, they decided to escape the hubbub and bring the defunct winery back into working order. Before doing so, they both trained at Château Figeac for two years and, in 1978, François, just 30 years old, crafted his inaugural vintage. In Neal Martin’s all-encompassing writeup on this rarefied gem of an estate, François said this regarding his new venture at the time: “I will drive my little boat and nobody will judge it apart from my wife and myself.” Well, that little boat has evolved into an enormous ship and is now considered one of Bordeaux’s most distinct estates.
François is one of those rare producers who consistently makes wines of superb quality without having a consistent house style. A vintage truly means something at Tertre-Roteboeuf: Regardless of the growing year, François doesn’t artificially add or subtract from his wines: “If someone says to me that in 1989 I produced something very opulent but in 1988 something more elegant then I say: ‘I did not produce opulent or elegant.” Meaning, he takes what nature gives him, and in 2014 it gave him a wine of charming balance, rich fruit, and seamless texture. He farms his 14 acres by hand and eschews many modern practices like pruning, green harvesting, and debudding—he believes all this is a sign of weak vines! François says: “The one thing I know is working the southern clay on limestone slopes of Saint Emilion and this is where I feel like ‘a fish in the right water.’ That is my job.” In the winery, the grapes undergo a warm fermentation (that can last over two months) and the wine ages in 100% new French oak for 22 months with a gentle racking regimen.
Red, black, blue, purple—name a color and you’ll find a corresponding fruit that lives in this stunningly aromatic 2014 Saint-Émilion. A deep, dark crimson with light purple, the wine explodes—even without a decant—with incredibly rich and high-toned wild raspberry, boysenberry, cassis, huckleberry, and black cherry next to an exotic array of baking spices, fresh purple and red flowers, cacao, anise, crushed stone, and accents of bay leaf. The dense, mouth-coating palate reveals immense layers of sweet fruit, spice, and mineral savor that culminates with a lingering savory finish. It really is wholly inimitable and fully ready to drink, but just because it’s beautiful now doesn’t mean it won’t perform down the road—these wines age with the best of them! You can expect jaw-dropping results on its 10th, 20th, even 30th birthday. When consuming in the next few years, decant for an hour and slow-drink over the entire night in large Bordeaux stems. The attached recipe will make a suitably unique and compelling accompaniment. Don’t miss this—it’s one of the most unique Bordeaux wines you’ll ever taste!
