Voluptuous, silky and plush, with a core of ripe black raspberries, earth and spice. The wine coats your palate with layers of sweet, ripe fruits, velvety tannins and opulent, exotic textures. The wine is concentrated, rich and intense, yet everything is perfectly in balance with all it has to offer. Tasted June 2015

Another killer 2012 readers should be happy to have in their cellar is the concentrated, classically styled 2012 Tertre Roteboeuf. Offering tons of exotic cassis and jammy black cherry fruits as well as more nuanced smoked earth, tobacco, truffle, and licorice aromas and flavors, it’s full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, yet stays weightless and elegant, with fine, fine tannin and incredible purity. It’s slightly less concentrated than the 2005 yet is stunning stuff that can be enjoyed anytime over the coming 15-20+ years. Feb 2018

The 2012 Tertre-Roteboeuf is without question one of the wines of the vintage. Remarkably vivid for such a big, super-ripe wine, the 2012 boasts superb nuance and delineation from start to finish. Dense, powerful and explosive, the 2012 is a real head-turner, but it is also going to need at least a few years to shed some baby fat. Still, the 2012 is impressive, even today. With time in the glass the aromas open up and tannins soften a touch, both indications of what is in store for those who can wait. The October 10 harvest was very much in line with the norm here. Tertre-Rôteboeuf is 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. The 2012 spent 18 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Jan 2016

(80% Merlot/15% Cabernet Sauvignon/5% Cabernet Franc)
Amazing animal nose - alive with character and ripe fruit. Gloss, polish and concentration with great tannins, beautifully masked to give the impression of both intensity and light weight. Ripe and indulgent.

The 2012 Tertre Rôteboeuf has fine delineation on the nose with raspberry, blackberry and Seville orange marmalade, a hint of peppermint emerging with time. A little Grenache-like maybe? The palate is medium-bodied with fleshy, ripe red fruit laced with mint, maybe a little drying towards the finish and lacking the complexity of the aromatics? As such, it just finishes on a slight down note. Tasted blind at the Southwold Ten-Year On tasting. Sept 2022

Drink 2019-2032
80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, harvested 9 October. 'It's not that we are harvesting earlier but everyone else is harvesting later', says Nina (daughter of François) Mitjavile.
Deep crimson, red fruited and (relatively) burgundian, hint of earthy mushroom. Sweet fruited, rich and deep, luxuriant, almost exotic by Bordeaux standards. Finely structured but melts in the mouth while retaining energy. Very long indeed. (JH)