The Mitjavile Portfolio, 2015
I’m a quick learner. It only took one visit to François Mitjavile at Château Tertre-Roteboeuf, a few years ago now, to realise that if I was to continue with this visit in my annual primeurs schedule (which is surely a certainty), it was an appointment I should move to the end to the day. First, because tastings with François don’t always move fast, and the debate can easily drift from the wines at hand to astrology and philosophy, a half-decent attempt made to right all the wrongs of the world before the tasting glass is even refilled. Second, because François isn’t averse to pouring one or two wines beyond the primeurs samples, and only a fool turns down such an opportunity, simply because he was silly to make another appointment just one hour after a tasting at Château Tertre-Roteboeuf. On my first visit here I was that fool. Just the once though.
This year François followed his 2014 primeurs samples with all three of his wines – Château Tertre-Roteboeuf, Roc de Cambes and its companion Domaine de Cambes – from 2013, making this an excellent opportunity to revisit this vintage, a difficult one in which François did better than so many others. After that we looked further back in time to two wines from the 2005 vintage, now ten years of age. My notes on the 2014 vintage can be found in my 2014 St Emilion report, so below I discuss only the 2013 and 2005 vintages.
The Wines
I know it is old news now, but the 2013 vintage was a very difficult one, and surely François was hit as hard as anybody else. We might also imagine him to be doubly disadvantaged due to his cru philosophy, his personally-held belief that everything harvested from the Tertre-Roteboeuf vineyard goes into the bottle. There is no second wine here, no selecting out of fruit after it has been picked, no taking only the crème de la crème for the grand vin, and flogging everything else off cheap. If François made a good wine, it is because he picked good quality fruit. And although the 2013 Château Tertre-Roteboeuf (a sample drawn from barrel) might not be the strongest vintage I have tasted from this domaine, it has freshness, perfume and harmony; it is a good wine in its own right and for the vintage it is an outstanding effort. It may drink earlier than some vintages, and will never stand up to the likes of 2010 or even, I suspect, 2014, but this is still a wine that is worth our time. If you were one of those who bought from François in 2013 I think your loyalty will be rewarded.
