Appellation: Saint Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux
Grapes: Merlot, Cab Franc
size: 150cl
 
Francois Mitjavile
took over Tertre Roteboeuf in 1978 from his father-in-law (Gilard family), and this vintage was the first one he made entirely by himself. Before that, he worked two years at the famous Château Figeac and afterwards spent several years at Tertre Roteboeuf to learn as much as possible about wine. His breakthrough on the wine scene was 1985-vintage. A new cult wine was born, and since then, the quality has improved, so Tertre Roteboeuf can easily compete with the finest Grand Cru Classés.
There are no secrets to his success beyond the minute attention to detail at every stage and a willingness to devote more man hours per vine than any other Bordeaux vineyard in order to produce fruit with perfect physiological maturity by the time of harvest. His obvious passion is backed up by his profound understanding of his own ‘terroir’ and the ‘savoir faire’ needed to realise its full potential. Most importantly, in his efforts to exaggerate the character of the vineyard and the individual vintage, he manages to achieve spectacularly successful results without recourse to the fashion for overextraction that has in my view blighted so much modern winemaking by destroying the subtle nuances of character that distinguish the wine of one ‘cru’ from another. As a result, his wines never lose their sense of originality and they have the balance and structure that allow them proper longevity. He appears to be particularly adept at dealing with the more difficult vintages and it is often in such years that his wine stands out from the field. 1997 was a good example and remains a special favourite. As for his other vineyard on the finest ‘terroir’ of Bourg, Roc de Cambes, and its somewhat lighter sibling vineyard at the foot of the slope, Domaine de Cambes, this has set a new standard for the Cotes de Bourg appellation during the 25+ years of the Mitjavileownership and the wine fully merits comparison with the greatest growths of the Bordeaux winefield.
TERTRE ROTEBOEUF
5.7 ha of vines are planted with 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. Merlot-vines are 45 years old, while Cabernet Franc ones are five years older. The subsoil consists of four kinds of clay resting on the bed of limestones. This combination of subsoil, which is typical for the majority of vineyards in Saint-Émilion "Côtes" (slopes), is described as "cold soil" because clay needs a long time to be warmed up, and limestones are always humid and cold. It means that grapes get the opportunity to get the maximum advantage of the sun and reach perfect maturity very late. Francois Mitjavile waits until very late with the harvest – the grapes must be perfectly ripe, resulting in raisin-like lusciousness (Tertre Roteboeuf's trademark). Therefore, he risks his grapes being destroyed if the bad weather comes.