Freddy R. Troya

9.4

Château du Tertre, Red Blend – 2018
AOC Margaux – Bordeaux, France 🇫🇷
5th Growth, Grand Cru Classé en 1855

Overview
A historic Margaux estate, Château du Tertre sits on a prominent gravel “tertre” (hillock) that gives the château its name. The 2018 vintage was a warm and generous year, producing wines with depth, richness, and polished tannins. The estate’s blend for the V.18 crafted Cabernet Sauvignon 40%, Merlot 30%, Cabernet Franc 25%, and Petit Verdot 5%, delivering the quintessential Margaux elegance.

Aromas & Flavors
Blackcurrant, blackberry, and ripe plum layered with graphite, cedar, and cigar box. Hints of violets, licorice, and cocoa weave through the bouquet, adding complexity.

Mouthfeel
Elegant yet bold: medium to full-bodied with polished and structured tannins, a silky mid-palate, and a long, harmonious finish. A wine showing its prime with youthful vibrancy and well-integrated oak.

Food Pairings
Roast lamb with herbs, beef Wellington, duck breast, Truffle risotto, porcini pasta, mushroom burgers, aged Gruyère, Manchego, or Brie de Meaux.

Verdict
The 2018 vintage is a standout for Margaux, and Château du Tertre shines with a balance of power and finesse. Dark-fruited, silky, and aromatic, this wine embodies the elegance that Margaux is celebrated for, approachable now, yet cellar-worthy for another decade.

Did You Know?
Château du Tertre shares historical ties with Château Giscours (also in Margaux), once under the same ownership. Its elevated gravel terroir provides excellent drainage, making it ideal for Cabernet Sauvignon’s deep root systems.

🍷 Personal Pick Highlight: For me, the 2018 du Tertre is the sweet spot, Margaux elegance meets ripe, modern Bordeaux style, without sacrificing finesse and within a reasonable price point. Cheers! — 8 months ago

Christy

10

5th anniversary $50 AR — 5 years ago

Ash & Chris

10

This is the tits 🍷 Don’t let the Jacobs Creek fool you, this is delicious. — 6 years ago

Lisa Matthews

9.1

Can’t believe the price this delicious wine so rich in the palate and smell — 6 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

Pale to mid crimson and a little cloudy - a characteristic one used to see occasionally in Bass Phillip as they are bottled unfiltered which adds to the flavour intensity. A beautiful perfume of whole bunch notes, sous bois and a touch of toffee. Amazing intensity for Bass Phillip’s 5th ranked Pinot Noir cuvée. Sweet and savoury fruits. Delivers more fruit on the palate than one would expect from the nose. For short term drinking but still delivers the Bass Phillip stamp of quality. — 6 years ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.0

Whenever I have a really older bottle of wine, I think, what was I doing in this case 1989?

About this time of year, I was walking into Candlestick Park for the Bay Bridge World Series while this wine was fermenting. I was walking through the parking lot when the 89 earthquake hit. It was like Godzilla was a Gopher tunneling under my feet. The stadium erupted with a resounding cheer. Earthquake during the World Series...yeah! It wasn’t until an hour later that hard reality set in.

This Chateau Lynch-Moussas is a recent direct purchase from the Negotiant. 89 was a pretty good Bordeaux year. So, why not see how a 5th Growth producer wine evolved over 30 years. It’s a treat to enjoy wine with this much age.

While Lynch-Mousses has improved vastly in more recent vintages, back in the day, they made some nice wines but, not great. This wine shows beauty & elegance but, it lacks fundamental elements of high quality. However, its fruit and structure have held up nicely over the years.

The nose reveals a fair amount of; barnyard, mushrooms, ripe; blackberries dark currants, dark cherries, black raspberries & strawberries on the edges of the glass. Black plum skin, dark chocolate, raspberry cola, mocha, caramel, clove, nutmeg, burnt cinnamon, tarriness, graphite, leather, old tobacco, dark spice, dry herbs, dark, rich, black earth, stones, dry brush, steeped tea with withering red & dark florals.

The body is still full and round. The fruits are still ripe & slightly candied. The wine is still holding an interesting drinking window, it’s on the decline. While that sounds not good, I find them in this phase infinitely more interesting. Ripe; blackberries dark currants, dark cherries, black raspberries & some strawberries. Black plum with skin, dark chocolate, raspberry cola, mocha, caramel, clove, nutmeg, burnt cinnamon, vanillin, tarriness, graphite, leather, old tobacco, dark spice, dry herbs, dark, rich, forest floor, mushrooms, stones, touch of limestone minerals & crush rocks, dry brush, steeped tea with withering red & dark florals with violets. The acidity is round & excellent. The long finish is; rich, ripe, well balanced & intergraded with long drier but, very floral persistence.

Excellent with our steaks. Still has another 5-7 years of good drinking ahead with excellent storage. I also miss the 12-13% ABV of the 80’s Bordeaux’s.

Photos of; the entrance view of Chateau Lynch-Moussas, Count Jean-Baptiste Lynch of Ireland and Chateau founded in the 1800’s, the owner/operator since 1961 - Emile Casteja and their barrel room.
— 7 years ago

Roger Ray

9.1

This full-bodied wine is loaded with blackberry, bramble, baking spice, vanilla, molasses and black pepper, integrated tannins leading up to a long smooth finish. — 9 months ago

Bob McDonald

9.0

A very good left bank classed growth (5th growth) from a good vintage. Cabernet Sauvignon dominant aromatics (74%). Blackcurrant and cedar - a little tomato bush. A good wine but to state the obvious does not have the class and complexity of the higher classed growths. For example 3rd growth 2009 Chateau Palmer is a stunning wine - very rich, complex with a long life in front of it - very much superior to Chateau Batailley. — a year ago

David Wong

9.1

Worth waiting for three hours — 6 years ago

P A

9.4

The label says that this Okanagan red blend is “..,Complex, rich, elegant and balanced..,”. I say with its intoxicating aromas, tastes of black berry, currants, smooth full bodied mouth feel and intriguing hints of spice this wine is simply “Damn Good” Cheers 🍷🇨🇦🇨🇦 — 6 years ago

Ron Siegel

9.5

Liger Belair Dinner 5th Flight La Romanee in Mag. One of my favorite wines on the planet that was youthful, balanced & structured showing richness & power with amazing aromatics & finish — 7 years ago

Dan Levin

9.5

This is my 5th and final bottle and, like the others, was extraordinary! The wines from Laura Zahtila/Laura Michael are consistently great, but the combination of their nuanced winemaking, incredible Beckstoffer fruit, and 13 years, made this a stellar bottle. Green olives, dried thyme, roasted meats, leather, and forest floor were the dominant tones with the primary fruits - dark ripe cherries and raspberries - playing a supporting role. — 8 years ago

Nicole Schilling

9.5

Cheers to Olivia — a year ago

with Matt

Aylin Ulku

9.7

Spectacular We have stored this for 11 years and enjoyed it for our 5th anniversary, paired with lamb shank and lamb chops. opens beautifully perfect time to drink. Initially the finish had notes of leather, hint of dark fried fruit. — 2 years ago

J S

9.0

Smooth buttery pale yellow — 3 years ago

Bob McDonald

9.1

Lemon in colour. Some flint in evidence and smoky barrel ferment characters - sulphides. Sweeter on the palate than you would expect from the nose. Rich lemon characters. Overall lean in style. Tasted 41 weeks later on 19th January 2022 with consistent notes. Still in the lean citric acid style. Had another bottle 69 weeks later on 5th August 2022. It had filled out somewhat and not as lean. Excellent winemaking on show - perhaps pick a bit later for more ripeness? Mac seems to be aiming for a more elegant style. — 5 years ago

Jennifer Olney

10

5th anniversary from rooster and owl — 6 years ago

Scott E. Becker

9.2

[Tasted on January 17, 2020 at 5th & Taylor in Nashville with Jay]

Cuvee is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon with Petit Verdot and Merlot. Black currant and blackberry fruit. Petit Verdot provides lavender and violet notes. Licorice and black olive. Full bodied and silky. — 6 years ago

Mark Guzzo

9.0

5th mission. Notes of tobacco and dark fruits. Slight effervescence. Medium tannins. — 7 years ago

James Gerhart

8.9

Apparently a 3rd wine of a 5th growth. Decent Bordeaux but not worth a revisit. — 7 years ago