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Vieux Chateau Certan
Region Bordeaux
Appellation Pomerol
Category Red Wine
Classification N/A
See all vintages of this wine
C(s)=Case(s), Bt(s)=Bottle(s), Cat=Wine Category
Cat Appellation Year Producer, Wine Size C(s) HKD/Cs Score Critic
Pomerol 2018 Vieux Chateau Certan , Vieux Chateau Certan BT 4 HK$2,800.00 99+ LPB
Pomerol 2018 Vieux Chateau Certan , Vieux Chateau Certan MG3 0 HK$18,000.00 99+ LPB
Pomerol 2018 Vieux Chateau Certan , Vieux Chateau Certan BT6 1 HK$15,960.00 99+ LPB
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Tasting Notes

Blackberry and hints of plum with intense wet-earth and black-olive undertones. Bark and some iodine. Full-bodied with superb depth of fruit and structure. The palate is so broad with super tannins. This is a powerful and very structured VCC with fantastic depth and muscle. Down-to-earth style. You can taste the soil. 70% merlot and 30% cabernet franc. One for long cellar aging. Old-vine character. Try after 2027.

Score: 99 James Suckling (JS), JamesSuckling.com, March 2021

The 2018 Vieux Château Certan is delicate, silky and understated, just as it was in barrel. Inky blue/purplish berry fruit, mint, lavender, spice and wild flowers all open in the glass. The 30% Cabernet Franc, which is high for present-day standards, adds tons of aromatic lift as well as freshness, while bright, saline-infused notes extend the finish. Fine tannins and mid-weight structure give the 2018 an air of finesse that is impossible to miss. If I had to bet on one 2018 that could very well surprise 10-20 years out, it might very well be VCC.

Score: 97+ Antonio Galloni (AG), Vinous Media (VM), March 2021

The 2018 Vieux Château Certan is composed of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc, weighing in with 14.4% alcohol and an IPT (total polyphenol index) of 77. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the nose is locked down tight at this youthful stage, requiring a lot of patient swirling to release a profound powerhouse of a perfume: preserved plums, blueberry compote, ripe black cherries and boysenberries, leading to suggestions of Indian spices, lilacs, espresso and licorice, plus a waft of sandalwood. The medium to full-bodied palate has an amazing sense of cohesiveness. There are no edges to the seamless flow of exquisitely fine-grained tannins and perfectly knit acidity, beautifully framing the blue and black fruits, which are at once elegant and also so, so rich. It finishes with many slowly lapping waves of minerals and exotic spices, which just go on and on. It is a wine that is, simply put, an experience not to be missed. Give it a good 6-8 years in the cellar and drink it over the next 30 years or more.

Score: 99+ Lisa Perrotti-Brown (LPB), The Wine Advocate (WA), April 2021

The 2018 Vieux Château Certan is deeply impressive. It possesses one of the most intense aromatics that I can remember on a nascent VCC, bursting from the glass with intense black cherries, cassis and violets that are even more pronounced than when I first tasted this from barrel. The palate is exuberant, racing out of the blocks with precocious, intense black fruit wrapped up with a silky texture that makes it deceptively easy to drink. You would not pick this out as the subtlest VCC; instead, it is a long-term proposition, a comparatively opulent wine that may ultimately be feted as one of the appellation’s finest wines. Chapeau, Alexandre et Guillaume Thienpont!

Score: 96 Neal Martin (NM), Vinous Media (VM), March 2021

The 2018 Vieux Château Certan is a very pretty wine built more on elegance, finesse and aromatic nuance. Relative to the recent past, the 2018 shows a much more mid-weight structure and less of the creaminess of either 2015 or 2016. Much of that is attributable to a blend that includes 30% Cabernet Franc. Lavender, rose petal, mint and blueberry fruit all grace the 2018. Far from an obvious wine, the 2018 is going to need a number of years to be at its best, as it is a wine of total understatement and class. Fine beads of tannin support the understated finish. In 2018, VCC is a wine of refinement and subtlety more than anything else. I don´t see the same visceral thrill as in a number of vintages of the recent past. Perhaps that will come in bottle.

Score: 94-97 Antonio Galloni (AG), The Wine Advocate (WA), April 2019

The flagship 2018 Vieux Château Certan is based on 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc and was brought up in (I suspect) roughly 50% new French oak. It tips the scale at 14.5% natural alcohol, which is the same as the 2010 (slightly higher than the 2009) and has a pH of 3.78, which is also very close to the 2010. This rock star of a Pomerol offers a kaleidoscopic array of red, black, and blue fruits, white truffle, spring flowers, tobacco, and crushed rock-like minerality on the nose. It has perfectly integrated oak, gorgeous concentration, building yet ultra-fine tannins, and not a hard edge to be found. I was able to follow this bottle for multiple days, and the large Cabernet Franc component became more and dominant, yet it never truly shut down and was always a joy to drink. Nevertheless, a good 7-8 years of bottle age are warranted, and it should evolve for 30-40 years in cold cellars. Again, the Thienpont family produces a heavenly wine that wine lovers should all have in their cellar. Along with Petrus, Conseillante, Lafleur, and a handful of others, it´s one of the appellation´s most singular wines.

Score: 99 Jeb Dunnuck (JD), JebDunnuck.com (JD), March 2021

Alexandre and Guillaume Thienpont are deeply thoughtful, instinctive winemakers who spend most of their time outside in the vineyards, and prove once again here why VCC is such a well-loved Pomerol. Three years along and you start to see the sweeter edged Merlot fruits where during En Primeur this was very much Cabernet Franc dominant. I get a beautiful touch of strawberry and raspberry puree which is given form by precise brushstroke tannins, white pepper and smoked butterscotch. A careful selection from the 23 plots ensured only pristine fruit - meaning not overly-affected by the summer heat - made it into the wine, showing the level of commitment at this estate. Harvest September 19 to October 9, 3.75ph, 40 hl/ha yield.

Score: 98 Jane Anson (JA), Decanter (DEC), September 2021

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