Château du Tertre 2012

Château du Tertre is a Fifth Growth property in Margaux that has had a very exciting couple of decades since the year 2000.  It is one of the oldest properties not simply in Margaux, but in the entire Left Bank -- with an estate that is 1,000 years old.  The vineyards are 52 hectares and have not been changed much since the 1855 Classification.  But make no mistake, this property is not stuck in the past and resistant to change.  Since 2008, Château du Tertre has been experimenting with forward-thinking practices like biodynamic viticulture and new technology in the vat room.  The results speak for themselves, given the consistent rise in quality over the past few vintages. 

Château du Tertre has a story that dates back to 1143 and the name, “Tertre,” stems from its geography.  The word tertre means, “hill,” or, “rising ground.”  The estate began to rise to prominence in the 1700s, when it was owned by a famous glassblower in Bordeaux named Pierre Mitchell.  Mitchell was known to have created the first jeroboam and given his expertise in crafting glass bottles it is likely that the first wines in Bordeaux were bottled at Château du Tertre.  The estate was very popular with the Dutch wine market, and it was acquired by Henri de Koenigswarter from the Netherlands.  Château du Tertre changed hands and was owned by the Cruse family – a famous négociant family in the 1900s.  Around the turbulent time of World War II, Château du Tertre fell into disrepair, and its sterling reputation declined a bit.  It wasn’t until 1961, when Philippe Gasqueton, the well-known owner of Château Calon Ségur in Saint Estèphe, acquired the property and managed the long, intensive process of turning things around at the estate.  The viticultural team is headed by Alexander Van Beek, who made some exciting changes such as eliminating machine harvesting entirely.  Frédéric Ardouin from Château Latour was hired as Technical Director as of 2008.

Château du Tertre was 55% biodynamically farmed as of 2017 and is looking to be 100% in the future.  The graveled, sloping soils here are the home to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot vines.  The majority of the vines here are planted near an ambient forest, which yields cooler temperatures and preserves the freshness of the wines.  The winery is a gravity flow operation, with thermoregulated vats.  The wines are vinified in a combination of wood tanks, concrete vats, cement eggs and stainless-steel tanks.  Château du Tertre is also a proud home to the very expensive, egg-shaped, concrete Nomblot vats.  These Nomblot vats are often used in the Rhône Valley, and lend a vibrant, fresh, mineral quality to the wines.  Critics are beginning to take notice, and the scores for these wines are climbing higher and higher. 

There is a remarkable versatility to these wines, and Château du Tertre can be enjoyed younger with one to two hours decanting.  With all that in mind, these wines are incredible with 10 years of bottle age. 

"This 125-acre vineyard is beautifully situated in the southern sector of the appellation of Margaux. Dense ruby/purple, with sweet cassis fruit, Du Tertre’s 2012 has a perfumed, elegant, lush, velvety-textured mouthfeel and impressive purity and depth. Drink it over the next 15-20 years." - Robert Parker Jr, The Wine Advocate (4/29/2015, Issue 218) Rating: 91, Drink:2015-2035