Wish this could have been more helpful; at least it’ll maybe get some conversation going …
2019 Château du Tertre - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Margaux (3/21/2024)
– decanted 45 min. before initial taste –
– tasted non-blind over 1.5 hrs on Day 1; revisited on Day 6 –
NOSE: Day 1: vaguely red-fruited, with some florals; a bit earthy; medium+ expressiveness. Day 6: dark red fruits; strong mineral note; soapy florals.
BODY: medium bodied.
TASTE: Day 1: medium+ to high acidity — juicy; can feel the alc. a bit (labelled at 13.5%); a light TCA-esque note on the palate. Day 6: very bitter and oaky, but at least that TCA-like note is gone. Confusing showing.
Well, definitely not too old! LOL! I bought two bottles, so I’ll have one more swing at this one. Eventually. I’ll probably pack it away in a box and forget about it for at least 10 years.
du Tertre appears to be one of the holdouts still trying to make a more restrained and classical @Robert.A.Jr type style (and one that gets less enthusiastic marks from @Jeff_Leve ), at least from the notes I’ve read about recent vintages.
I bought some 2020 at Costco but I haven’t had one.
[To be clear, I don’t know of @Robert.A.Jr having had this wine, I just meant all the CT notes seem to indicate it being a Bordeaux in the style he typically prefers]
I do indeed like the old style, though it is a Bordeaux that generally is not easily found retail. At least not the stores that I tend to frequent. Marc Frontario and I had a fantastic 2001 a couple years ago that did stand its own ground next to a Pichon Baron and Trotanoy.
Certainly possible, although I would (perhaps erroneously?) expected that aspect to be more pronounced on Day 6 than on Day 1, but …? The only thing I dislike more than a very corked wine is a slightly corked wine.
We often hear how low level TCA can suppress flavor, even if it’s not detectable on its own. Was reading this article recently that seems to support that notion
I think given you had a bottle that underperformed (I have tasted it in the last month), and that one at least one occasion while tasting it you perceived TCA, I would bet money that it was slightly corked.
I opened one in July and had an impression similar to Brian’s…presumably off, but it wasn’t entirely clear to me whether it was corked or not. I would guess that I’m a little more sensitive than average to TCA, but maybe not highly sensitive.
We opened a second bottle yesterday evening, and it was similar, subtly but more distinctly corked. I’m leaning towards keeping my other four rather than returning them to Costco since it seems that sound bottles should be quite nice, but I haven’t totally decided yet.