Ch. Le Tertre-Roteboeuf
Grand Vin
Saint-Emilion
2009

The producer

Tertre-Roteboeuf is owned by Francois Mitjavile, who also owns Roc de Cambes in Cote de Bourg. 5.7 hectares of prime Saint Emilion vineyard land is planted to 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, and grapes are tended to with organic principles. The vines are on average 45 years old. The estate’s name translates to “hill of the belching beef” and refers to the property’s history as cattle grazing ground in the Middle Ages. The chateau is unclassified but generally very highly regarded. In Bordeaux terms production is small at only around 2,000 cases made per year.

The wine

The grape blend for Tertre-Roteboeuf’s Grand Vin varies a little with vintage conditions and fruit ripeness, but usually is made up of around 80% Merlot, with the remainder Cabernet Franc. Vines are on average around 45 years old. Fermentation takes place in temperature controlled concrete tanks and is followed by 18 months ageing in 100% new French oak barrels. Highly aromatic and intensely black fruit concentrated with caramel, spice, and earthy complexity.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.