Château Tertre Roteboeuf 1986

Purchased in 1988 by François Mitjavile (the owner of Tertre Roteboeuf), this estate has managed, within a few years, to establish itself as one of the Côtes de Bourg's outstanding wines, capable of rivalling Saint Emilion's finest. Located on the banks of the Gironde, near the town of Bourg, the vineyard lies on sloping ground with a particularly favourable microclimate: the proximity of the river acts as a buffer against the cold and protects it against frost.
The vines are rooted in clay-limestone soils and are predominantly planted with Merlot, complemented by Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Harvesting by hand is timed for advanced ripeness, a hallmark of François Mitjavile’s style. In the cellar, the grapes are crafted into an ample, deep and concentrated wine, matured in French oak barrels, notably from the Radoux cooperage. In its youth, Roc de Cambes is marked by intense woody notes and aromas of ripe black fruit, becoming more harmonious and complex with time. This highly personal, ambitious expression of Côtes de Bourg is now among the most sought-after on Bordeaux’s Right Bank.

François Mitjavile continued to scrupulously refine the expression of his exotic terroir, while at the same time reflecting the character of each vintage. In this respect, Tertre Roteboeuf stands resolutely apart from the "garage wines" with which it is sometimes wrongly compared. And these wines, already delicious in their youth, have long since proven that they also possess substantial longevity.