wein.plus
Attention
You are using an old browser that may not function as expected.
For a better, safer browsing experience, please upgrade your browser.

Log in Become a Member

TheTetre Roteboeuf 2005 2every wine drinker has his or her favourite wine. This is usually a question of taste, wine socialisation or simply a momentary mood, which often depends on the circumstances and the ambience of the wine enjoyment. Happy winemakers - where the winemaker (or someone employed by the winemaker) doesn't just rattle off the usual standard phrases - can do a lot to make you really like a wine. This is what happened to me during a visit to Château Tertre Rôteboeuf, situated on a beautiful terrace overlooking the vast vineyards. Actually, I had heard a lot about the headstrong, determined, committed François Mitjavile and his wines, which already have cult character. Cult" is one of those things: it's so easy to get caught up - too easily - in the magic of a place, a person or even a wine. Although I like to call myself a "cultural person", I have my great reservations about what has quickly and readily been elevated to the status of a "cult". Come to that, the charismatic Mitjavile was on holiday (for the first time in many years, his daughter said) during the visit to Tertre-Rôteboeuf. But his daughter - married to a wine merchant - represented him brilliantly. It was about the philosophy cultivated on this estate, about nature, about the respect and care with which work is done here. We stood on the terrace for a long time and talked about the soil, the climate, the vines, the location - and much more. We didn't immediately crawl into the cellar or into a tasting room, as is usual with most visits to winegrowers. What I saw and heard there convinced me.

And then the wines! It seemed to me as if they had absorbed the philosophy of the house, as if something was being presented here that did not need any "technical interventions", but had to offer power, spice, character, harmony, elegance, sensory diversity... all by themselves. The wines we tasted were still very young, still maturing, still developing.

Tertre RoteboeufAmong my many Bordeaux, I didn't have a single Tertre-Rôteboeuf until three years ago. It is also not offered that often, is quite expensive (around CHF 120) and the usual advertising campaigns hardly accompany it. It's an outsider that you might or might not afford. I afforded it and am glad to have it in my cellar now. Two years ago, the wine was hardly in demand at auctions - so older vintages were still relatively cheap to buy at auction. This is over. Tertre-Rôteboeuf is finally a cult. And cult wines are disproportionately expensive.

Now I have a 2005 in my glass twice in a row. Until now, I only opened bottles from the nineties. This 2005 is still young for the winery, but powerful, matured, developed - in its prime. The usual question is superfluous: how long can it still develop, how long can it be stored in the cellar? A silly question! This wine is good even now, fully there - perhaps different from older vintages - but a great pleasure. What more could you want?

Related Magazine Articles

View All
More
More
More
More
More
More
More
More
More
More

EVENTS NEAR YOU

PREMIUM PARTNERS