Chateau Roc des Cambes 1989

Professional reviews

Robert Parker (89)

I have been a big believer in this Cote de Bourg made by the obsessive/compulsive Francois Mitjavile, who is better known for his outstanding small St.-Emilion estate, Le Tertre-Roteboeuf. I initially rated these wines 89 for the 1990 and 88 for the 1989. In this recent tasting I was thrilled to see how well the wines showed. Both are fully mature, yet capable of lasting another 7-8 years. With the price escalation for wines such as Le Tertre-Roteboeuf, I suppose Roc des Cambes will now be known as the "poor person's Roteboeuf." The 1989 revealed the high PH color (plenty of amber at the edges), a tobacco, spicy, Graves-like nose, beefy, animal-like flavors, gobs of fruit, and a soft, round finish. Both the 1989 and 1990 are at their peak of maturity, but with its greater length and riper fruit, the 1990 will outlive the 1989 by 3-5 years. Readers who bought these wines early should be pleased that their $16-$18 investments now taste like wines costing $50-$100.