The Château Tertre-Roteboeuf Tasting and Dinner

Date: 28 Apr 2015

Time: 19:00

location: The Don, St Swithins Lane

Price: £ 295.00 (inc. VAT)

To my mind, Tertre-Rôteboeuf is one of the finest wines of the Right Bank. You may not have heard of it, you may have bypassed it… it is, however, well worth experiencing and remains one of the great secrets of Bordeaux.

Proprietor Francois Mitjavile’s estate is an outlier. Geographically it is something of a satellite in the south-easternmost sector of St. Emilion, but it is Mijtavile’s stance that separates it both in style and in approach. He has never adhered to the St. Emilion classification system, so even though this stunning wine could rank in the upper echelons of the hierarchy, he settles for a humble Grand Cru classification – essentially the lowest rung of the ladder. Francois also turned his back on Robert Parker as he disliked the way his wine was reduced to mere numbers. No sour grapes here, however, as Tertre-Rôteboeuf can boast a serious array of Parker scores. It is more a question of philosophy for Mijtavile.

Stylistically this property is one of the last to harvest as the terroir is cooler and but also it is Monsieur Mijtavile’s preference as he seeks to achieve power and intensity. There is always a mineral backbone to the Merlot and Cabernet Franc grown on these clay and limestone based vineyards. There is no second wine here, he wants his wine to represent its vintage. Unique is a term bandied around in the wine trade, but Tertre-Rôteboeuf is a most individual wine, offering deep dark fruit, cherry, blackberry characters allied to mineral notes, liquorice, kirsch and even chocolate. It is a remarkably textural style, plush being the word that springs to mind, with seldom a harsh edge.

I would like to extend an invitation to you to join me at The Don for a 14-wine tasting on 28th April 2015. We will be showing the following vintages, including the 1989 and 1990 that pushed this estate into the limelight, as well as the high points of 1998,2000,2005, 2009 and 2010.

Château Tertre Rôteboeuf, Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion 1988

Château Tertre Rôteboeuf, Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion 1989

Château Tertre Rôteboeuf, Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion 1990

Château Tertre Rôteboeuf, Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion 1998

Château Tertre Rôteboeuf, Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion 1999

Château Tertre Rôteboeuf, Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion 2000

Château Tertre Rôteboeuf, Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion 2001

Château Tertre Rôteboeuf, Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion 2002

Château Tertre Rôteboeuf, Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion 2003

Château Tertre Rôteboeuf, Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion 2004

Château Tertre Rôteboeuf, Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion 2005

Château Tertre Rôteboeuf, Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion 2006

Château Tertre Rôteboeuf, Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion 2009

Château Tertre Rôteboeuf, Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion 2010

Contrary to the usual glass of Champagne, we will begin with a blind tasting of a white wine at 7pm. I will then take you through six vintages in advance of dinner, partnering the remaining eight vintages against three courses prepared by The Don’s Head Chef. We anticipate the evening to conclude around 10.30pm.

I am really looking forward to this event. It will be a great opportunity to catch up and I anticipate a remarkable range of wines; I have never had such a chance to taste so many vintages of this great wine side by side.

Tickets for the 14-wine vertical tasting and three-course dinner will be £295 (including VAT). As we are only extending the invitation to just over a dozen clients, I would appreciate it you could let us know of your interest at the earliest opportunity as space is strictly limited.

All the best,
Simon Larkin MW