2012 Tertre Roteboeuf
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Tasting notes
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.
Critic scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Tasted blind. Shaded ruby. Very overblown nose. Tertre? Sweet and round and hugely distinctive. Lightly grainy on the end. Probably not the finest vintage for Tertre – a charcoal note on the end, but it is long. (JR)
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.
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.