Tertre Roteboeuf, St. Emilion

Tertre Rôteboeuf is located on the edge of a limestone plateau near Château Troplong-Mondot, Château Larcis-Ducasse and Château Pavie.
The surface of the vineyard is 5.7 hectares and it is planted with 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. Vines are more than 40 years old on average and yields are kept very low.

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The slope leading to the estate is so steep that when steers were climbing it, they were belching under the effort. Hence, the name Tertre Roteboeuf, which translate literally in “Hill of the belching steer”.

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Regarding vineyard management, the vines are trained by using the Cordon system instead of the more common Guyot method. Grapes are closer to the ground which makes their microclimate slightly warmer, by about 1 degree Celsius, and increase the rate of ripeness of the grapes. No green harvest is used because the low trellising provides enough leaf canopy for the grapes.

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Located on a naturally cooler terroir, Tertre Roteboeuf is usually one of the last estates to finish harvesting in Saint Emilion. The grapes are harvested by hand and are fermented in temperature-controlled concrete tanks. Then, the wine is aged in 100% new French oak for 18 to 24 months.

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Tertre Rôteboeuf is owned by François Mitjavile who also owns Château Roc de Cambes in Côtes de Bourg. Just over 2,000 cases of Tertre Roteboeuf are produced each year.

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The estate does not want to be part of the St. Emilion Classification system even though it would be easily awarded Premier Cru Classé status.

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To fully control its distribution, Tertre Roteboeuf does not sell through the traditional Bordeaux negociant system but sells directly to importers and merchants.

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In Thailand, Wine Gallery is the exclusive importer of Tertre Roteboeuf.

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Photos courtesy of Tertre Roteboeuf

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