CHÂTEAU LE TERTRE RÔTEBOEUF

85 Merlot, 15 Cabernet Franc | 100% new oak same style and toasting as Aurage and Roc de Cambes | 13.7% alc There is such a beguiling nose here it is extraordinary. While the wines here are always fascinating, there is a coolness and precision here that is compelling and rather than a diminution of experience, it serves to control and focus the palate to unusual results. The oak notes, in particular, are almost invisible on the nose. The fruit is so sleek and so smooth that it refuses to allow the oak to emerge from its core. The balance is remarkable, and the finish gently scours the palate, scruffing the taste buds and gently coaxing them back into action for the next sip. TR21 is a perfumer’s best friend! The fruit notes and spices are familiar if you are a fan. The rose petal, mulberry, wild cherry, hedgerow-plucked blackberries and even faint hints of peach kernel and violet details are all sensational. Rating: 18.5 Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2022)

It's a brave estate that makes 100% 1st wine in the 2021 vintage, but Tertre Rotebeouf is perfectly placed on south-facing slopes, with obsessive attention to detail in the vineyard from the Mitjavile family. One to look out for, this has rich aromatics, a touch of reduction, fleshy black cherry, smoked earth, powerful liquorice bud, rose petals and clove spice, expanding through the mid palate. Works both in terms of the estate signature and in showcasing the potential of the 2021 vintage for sculpted but still concentrated wines in the right spots. Brilliant stuff. No crushing of the grapes here but full destemming, no cold soaks, 16% press wine, 100% new oak. Drinking range: 2026 - 2040 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, www.janeanson.com (May 2022)

The 2021 Tertre-Rôteboeuf was tasted directly from barrel à la Bourgogne. (Why don't more châteaux do this, if logistically convenient?) It has a comparatively less explosive, gourmand bouquet compared to vintages that I have tasted at this stage in recent years, featuring dark berries, hints of blueberry, iris flower and an underlying mineralité that only surfaces after 3–4 minutes in the glass. The harmonious palate is an absolute stunner. It delivers brilliant delineation and purity, one of the most energetic Tertre-Rôtebouefs that I have encountered, and a dash of black pepper on the finish. I have to confess: I had to have a sneaky sip of this. Drinking range: 2029 - 2055 Rating: 94-96 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2022)