Vieux Chateau Certan
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Vieux Chateau Certan,
For laying down,
Richly-perfumed, charming and delicious, Vieux Château Certan has been a favourite of mine in previous years and the 2014 is really tasty. Alexandre Thienpont told us that September and October saved the vintage, and we are all thankful for that. Strong acidity provides freshness, complexity and generosity. It is really seamless, gloriously sweet and focused on purity. There is not much weight or power here, but everything is carefully integrated. Clean and precise, it offers excellent length on the finish too. This is quite simply delicious.
80% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon
80% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon
Vieux Chateau Certan,
For laying down,
Vieux Ch. Certan, Pomerol displays deep black-red, cherry-red at the rim followed by a bright berry fruit nose; succulence on the palate, lovely weight, depth and texture. Good density. Tannins are plentiful but ripe with a long finish. A real sense of minerality to the wine, clearly from a noble terroir.
The intelligent, fascinating and hugely talented Alexandre Thienpont has made a wine that perfectly reflects his personality in 2005. This is the Grand Cru Burgundy of Bordeaux. It is simply in a different class, even in such an exalted vintage as 2005. The nose is heavenly: very Merlot with orange hints to the fragrant aromatic red fruit. The palate then takes you to another dimension with its incredibly pure, silky, intense raspberry fruit supported by firm but very fine tannins. Roll out the red carpet for this one.
The intelligent, fascinating and hugely talented Alexandre Thienpont has made a wine that perfectly reflects his personality in 2005. This is the Grand Cru Burgundy of Bordeaux. It is simply in a different class, even in such an exalted vintage as 2005. The nose is heavenly: very Merlot with orange hints to the fragrant aromatic red fruit. The palate then takes you to another dimension with its incredibly pure, silky, intense raspberry fruit supported by firm but very fine tannins. Roll out the red carpet for this one.
Vieux Chateau Certan,
For laying down,
Alexandre Thienpont’s overriding aim in 2008 was to save the fruit without falling into the trap of overextraction. He certainly succeeded and has, yet again, made a fabulously elegant wine, almost Burgundian in style and finesse. Alexandre ‘played the Merlot card’ (70%) in 2008 but the 20% Cabernet Sauvignon is also very present, adding dark fruit and structure. Cabernet Franc was the hardest variety to ripen but, at 10%, the relatively small amount (for VCC) imbues the wine with a lovely perfume and sophistication. This is pure, focused and graceful: a wonderful success.
Vieux Chateau Certan,
For laying down,
Alexandre Thienpont surprised us all this year: at one point he was contemplating not making any 'Grand Vin' at all, and then he made one of the undoubted stars of the vintage. Furthermore, he achieved this with a cepage made up of mainly Merlot - extraordinary in this vintage, and especially extraordinary from this vineyard, which used to be an island of Cabernet Franc in the middle of the Pomerol sea of Merlot. The only downside is that he has had to sacrifice most of his crop, and has therefore produced tiny quantities. They are bound to be snapped up.
Simon Berry - Chairman
Simon Berry - Chairman
Vieux Chateau Certan,
For laying down,
The 2009 Vieux Chateau Certan is a stunning wine. Incredibly sweet red cherry and damson fruit bursts on the tip of the tongue whilst a glorious minerality freshens the palate behind. You can feel the power here but it is all so beautifully balanced, like a tightrope walker perfecting his art. This is just so harmonious with incredibly dense but ultra fine tannins adding to the velvety mouthfeel. A wonderful achievement.
Vieux Chateau Certan,
For laying down,
Vieux Château Certan is always gorgeous to taste when in barrel and 2012 is no exception. There is surprising density here and, oh boy, I just love the gorgeous lift, freshness and floral notes that combine with the blueberry and redcurrant fruit. This is a nose that you just want keep on going back to. The palate is not lacking in weight either, with layers of plump red fruit. The tannins are super-fine and, along with the acidity, hold everything perfectly in place. There is an overriding freshness and purity to this wine that belies the serious intensity here. 2012 continues VCC’s legendary role of vintages. I doff my chapeau to Alexandre Thienpont.
Hong Kong Fine Wine Team
Hong Kong Fine Wine Team
Vieux Chateau Certan,
For laying down,
Alexandre Thienpont has made another spectacular Vieux Château Certan in 2016. This has a deep, ruby hue with a nose of black fruit and cherries. The palate is extremely voluptuous with a succulent texture, silky tannins and a long finish. The high percentage of Merlot adds notes of chocolate, liquorice and tar.
Blend: Merlot 85%, Cabernet Franc 14%, Cabernet Sauvignon 1%
Blend: Merlot 85%, Cabernet Franc 14%, Cabernet Sauvignon 1%
Vieux Chateau Certan,
For laying down,
Alexandre Thienpont has succeeded in creating a terrific wine again in 2015. Fabulously elegant, it is almost Burgundian in style and finesse. This is pure, focused and graceful: a wonderful success.
Real acidity provides freshness and a lovely texture. It is really polished. An underlying core of some depth, but the wine is very light in its feet. Very clean and precise, it is soft, light and beautifully spicy. There is so much complexity on the palate, yet the flavours are so refined. The wine has real length, but everything is understated and elegant.
Blend: 80% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon
Real acidity provides freshness and a lovely texture. It is really polished. An underlying core of some depth, but the wine is very light in its feet. Very clean and precise, it is soft, light and beautifully spicy. There is so much complexity on the palate, yet the flavours are so refined. The wine has real length, but everything is understated and elegant.
Blend: 80% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon
Vieux Chateau Certan,
Ready, but will improve,
What a nose. Supple and elegant with extraordinary perfume, plum, violets and raspberry fruit come through with wonderful floral lift. The palate is liquid velvet. A sweet, sappy front, followed by a focused darker core of plump, rounded fruit. There is a cashmere like texture that builds up in waves and the freshness of the vintage again works perfectly with the clean precise finish that just stays with you for minutes. I am not sure that there is a better wine in 2011.
Hong Kong Fine Wine Team
Hong Kong Fine Wine Team
Showing 1-12 out of 12 items
The Vieux Château Certan estate, which in 1745 already figured on Bellayme's famous map under the name of "Sertan", is located in the heart of the Pomerol plateau. Covering 14 hectares (35 acres) in one single block, the Vieux Château Certan vineyard is the fruit of a century of painstaking work and careful decision-making.
The estate vineyard is today made up of 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.This varietal mix enables the best possible balance to be sought in each vintage between the Merlot and the Cabernet Franc. The latter performs exceptionally well in this terroir and reaches perfect ripness levels. The grapes are picked by hand and sorted meticulously at the end of each row of wines. After a gentle crushing they are put into oak vats, by variety. Those vats destined to make up the blend of the Grand Vin are run off into 100 % new French oak barrels and aged for 18 to 22 months.
Vieux Château Certan is regularly ranked by the world's press and international tasting panels among the very top wines.