Last week I was incredibly fortunate to attend a dinner with Mark Savage MW who had brought a brilliant line-up of Tertre Roteboeuf (as well as some Roc de Cambes for good measure). Held at the beautiful St John’s College in Oxford, we would be trying several vintages from the last 30 years, all produced by the great Francois Mitjavile.
Tonight's lineup
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Mark is lauded as the man who discovered Tertre Roteboeuf but explained that it was Mitjavile who rang him in the late 1970’s to see if he’d be interested in his wine. A quick look at the fantastic terroir and the passion and knowledge of the winemaker confirmed to him that this property had the potential to produce one of St Emilion’s top wines.
After a fresh and fruity glass of Jacquesson 2000, we jumped straight in with Domaine de Cambes 2010. Although this is the little brother of Mitjavile’s three labels, it has benefited from this blockbuster vintage and the result is a black colour with black cherry and truffles on the nose. Cassis and forest fruits on the palate with violets on the finish make it approachable even at such a young age.
We now jumped back in time to Mitjavile’s 5th vintage at Tertre Roteboeuf, 1982. Slightly mahogany brown in colour, the wine has lost much of its fruit character but the forest floor aromas (matching our starter of Sautéed mushrooms perfectly) and a long smoky finish and soft, velvety tannins make it an enjoyable drink. Mitjavile was without barrels at this point due to lack of funds but the next wine up, 1985 was the year that some French oak arrived at the winery. It clearly made a difference as this purple coloured wine was singing on the palate with plums, nutmeg and Asian spices. A top wine.
After these two fantastic wines from the 1980’s, we moved onto the 90’s, starting with Tertre Roteboeuf 1993. A brooding nose of black truffle and chanterelle mushrooms was followed by ripe cherries and blueberries on the palate with some animal notes on the smooth but slightly short finish. This was served alongside Tertre Roteboeuf 1997 which was a real crowd pleaser. A ripe but underrated year, this had cherries and leather on nose with a crescendo of sweet, ripe fruit and voluptuous tannins on the finish.
A pair of Tertre Roteboeufs
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It was now the turn of the noughties and to kick us off was Domaine de Cambes 2000. Another example of a wine that has benefited from good winemaking in a great year. It has a rich nose of truffle and liquorice followed by ripe plums and red cherries. A touch of alcohol and some chewy tannins round off this little monster from Bourg.
Next up were Tertre Roteboeuf 2003 & 2007 alongside each other. The former had a dark purple colour with ripe cherries, plums and nutmeg on the palate. Leather and tobacco combine with the silky tannin for a long smoky finish. Mark said that Mitjavile often states that winemaking is ‘good gardening, not great cooking’ and he seems to have accomplished this is this remarkably hot vintage. It is immediately clear that the 2007 is a grown-up’s wine with a black colour and great intensity of fruit. Black cherries and leather carry through onto the palate, well balanced with ripe tannins and rich mahogany on the finish. A real drinker’s vintage and alongside Partridge with lentils it was smiles all round.
The last two Mitjavile wines of the evening were arguably the most exciting based on the ever-growing praise being heaped on the spectacular 09 and 10 vintages. With the 2007 Tertre still on our lips, we popped back down the Dordogne for Roc de Cambes 2009. This has plums and violets in abundance wrapped up in a cashmere cloak . There is great intensity of opulentfruit with some full, but rounded, tannins. This wine is a real iron fist in a velvet glove.
Mark Savage MW at the head of the table
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I managed a mouthful of Tournedos of Beef with pommes béarnaise while reaching over to my other glass, Tertre Roteboeuf 2010. This oozes power and complexity with a black colour and black cherry, liquorice and truffle on the nose. Gobs of dark fruit with ripe plums and chunky tannins are all evident. This is a tight ball of intense fruit (years away from showing its true self) with some cigar box notes on the finish. Mark read us Mitjavile’s reports on these two vintages. The final line for 2009 was ‘opulance and charm’ and the 2010, ‘voluptuous power with elegance’. I think I agree.
We finished off the evening with a lovely fresh, dry Tokaji from Zoltan Demeter, another winemaker who Mark has built up a relationship with. Many thanks to Mark for bringing the wines and talking us through them. Thanks also to William Kelley for organising such a great evening and Felix Hirsch whose food matched these excellent wines perfectly.
