1998 Château Tertre Roteboeuf

The 1998 Le Tertre-Rôteboeuf is a vintage that I had not encountered for a number of years. It has a straightforward bouquet that perhaps does not quite exploit a benevolent Right Bank season like recent vintage - this more conservative with strict blackberry, briary and undergrowth scents. Yet it begins to unfurl with aeration to reveal scent of dried rose petals, Seville orange marmalade and even a hint of gingerbread. The palate is medium-bodied with grippy tannin, a little drier in the mouth than I expected with a structured finish that just needs a little more fruit. As much as I love the wines from this Saint-Émilion estate, the 1998 has never been a vintage that I have warmed to since first tasting it in 2004 and at twenty years later it is something I cannot warm to. Tasted at the château.

Perfumed, even a little exotic and a hint of sweet brambly smoke like a waft of weed in the air (not uncommon in my part of London). Still has some fresh red fruit on the palate, immensely silky and complex. Some pepper and sweet decay (in an attractive way). Idiosyncratic Bordeaux but delicious. (JH)