2005  Le Tertre Rôteboeuf

-  A Bordeaux Blend Dry Red Table Wine from St Emilion, Bordeaux, France. 

Review by Robert Parker Wine Advocate # 176

Rating:    98

A sensational effort, Tertre Rôteboeuf’s 2005, along with the 2000, is one of the most profound wines made by Francois Mitjavile. A dense ruby/purple color is followed by a stunning perfume of sweet black currants, jammy cherries, licorice, and spice. Full-bodied and opulent with high, but remarkably sweet, velvety tannins as well as a stunning texture and a finish that lasts nearly a minute, this prodigious St.-Emilion should be drinkable in 3-4 years, and last for two decades or more. Kudos to the proprietor. 

2000 Le Tertre Rôteboeuf

A Bordeaux Blend Dry Red Table Wine from St Emilion, Bordeaux, France. 

Review by Robert Parker Wine Advocate # 146

Rating:    98 

I know this sounds crazy, but when I tasted the 2000 Tertre Rôteboeuf from bottle on two separate occasions, the only wine that jumped into my head was a déjà vu of the 1990 Petrus at age two!

Undeniably the finest Tertre Rôteboeuf since the spectacular 1998, 1990 and 1989, the dense ruby/purple colored 2000 exhibits a sweet nose of roasted espresso, mocha, chocolate, black cherry jam, cassis, licorice, new saddle leather, and toasty oak. This explosive, hedonistic concoction is followed by a full-bodied wine with silky tannin, a sumptuous, sweet, lavishly rich mid-palate and texture, and a 45-second finish. It reveals more noticeable structure and grip than the 1998 or 1990 possessed at a similar age.  This is a majestic wine. I kept one bottle open for six days without any oxidation! Anticipated maturity: 2005—2025. 

1990 Le Tertre Rôteboeuf

A Bordeaux Blend Dry Red Table Wine from St Emilion, Bordeaux, France. 

Review by Robert Parker Wine Advocate # 109

Rating:    98 

Together with the 1989, these two spectacular wines from proprietor François Mitjavile are both exotic, opulent, unctuously-textured creations from this splendidly situated vineyard that in English means “the hill of the belching beef”. Over the last year, the 1990 has exploded in the bottle. Both wines exhibit an opaque garnet/purple color, as well as amazing ripeness and intensity. The 1990 has been so stunning the last several times I tasted it, that it is inching its way up the scoring ladder. In fact, I am close to running out of points! The sweet nose of coffee, jammy berry fruit, smoke caramel, and spice soars from a glass of this marvelously concentrated, multi- layered, smooth wine.

This 1990 is so dazzling that I would be a fool to suggest owners refrain from consuming it. It should continue to drink well for 10—15 years.