VIEUX Château CERTAN
Red

Vieux Château Certan is one (the last?) of the very few Bordeaux grands crus where the owners, Alexandre Thienpont and his son Guillaume since 2011, are still the only cellar masters on board. Thanks to its Cabernet Franc (30% on average), Vieux-Certan offers a firm, distinguished and refined version of Pomerol, closer to Lafleur than Petrus. Its 2022 vintage has been showered with praise, as in Vinous, where the two tasters (Galloni and Martin) each rated it 100/100.

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Bettane+Desseauve : 96-97/100 “Blackcurrant, bigarreau cherry and dried immortelle create a rich bouquet. Structured, refined and long-lasting, it follows in the footsteps of the exceptional 2018 vintage.”

Vinous (N. Martin) : 95-97/100 "The 2025 Vieux Château Certan is raised in two-thirds new oak, the remainder one-year-old. The Merlot sculpts the bouquet with perfumed red cherries, raspberry, cassis and pressed violet scents that gain intensity in the glass. The oak is seamlessly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied, with powdery tannins on the entry. This must be one of the most peppery VCCs that I have tasted, poivre noir from the Cabernet Franc component. Quite structured, with chalky tannins on the finish, almost as if it came from more limestone soil."

Vinous (A. Galloni) : 93-96/100 "The 2025 Vieux Château Certan is not in the mood to show all its cards. Today, the 2025 shows tons of textural richness and body, but not quite the delineation or energy of the best vintages. Black-toned fruit, gravel, incense, mocha and chocolate are generous in the glass. Ripeness feels pushed to the edge, with fruit perhaps picked a bit later than ideal. But this is a barrel sample, with the wine racked just three weeks prior to my visit. I won't be surprised if this shows better from bottle, but today, this is my impression."