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2019 Vieux Chateau Certan

Removed from a temperature and humidity controlled wine storage unit

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RATINGS

100The Wine Advocate

...striking bouquet of cassis and cherries mingled with notions of violets, loamy soil, sweet spices and incense. Full-bodied, ample and layered, it's seamless and enveloping, with a fleshy core of beautifully vibrant fruit, lively acids and ripe, powdery tannins. Concluding with a long, resonant finish...

99Vinous / IWC

...fabulous bouquet with stunning delineation, a complex array of red and black fruit, sous-bois, truffle and Seville orange marmalade...palate is medium-bodied and very precise, with fine-grain tannins, a superb bead of acidity and a peacock's tail on the finish lingering long in the mouth.

99James Suckling

Subtle and complex with blackberries, violets, lilacs, roses and hints of ink. So floral, yet subtle on the nose. Full-bodied with incredible polish and beauty, the silky tannins running the length of the wine and going on and on.

98+ Jeb Dunnuck

...prodigious, deep, layered bouquet of blackcurrants, black cherries, tobacco leaf, cedar pencil, and sappy spring flowers, it hits the palate with a full-bodied, multi-dimensional texture, a great mid-palate, no hard edges, perfectly integrated acidity, and a blockbuster of a finish.

97Wine Spectator

Allows glorious plum sauce, boysenberry puree and black cherry compote flavors to unfurl over a bed of velvety tannins, while subtle black tea, violet, alder and sweet tobacco notes flirt in the background. The finish is underscored by a subtle warm earth note, which adds latent length. A beauty.

18.5Jancis Robinson

Compact, dense, dramatic fruit though without excessive dryness or oak. There is drama here and lots of satisfaction.

PRODUCER

Vieux Chateau Certan

Vieux-Chateau-Certan is one of the oldest estates in Pomerol. It was founded in the 16th century in the heart of Pomerol’s most remarkable viticultural plateau. The wine is unclassified in terms of official Bordeaux classifications, but the 33-acre estate has long had a reputation for making outstanding wines. Until the mid-20th century, when Petrus became a famous name, Vieux-Chateau-Certan was considered the finest wine of the Pomerol. The estate is run by Alexandre Thienpont, whose grandfather purchased it in 1924, and it is owned by a group of Thienpont family members, who also own Le Pin. Vieux-Chateau-Certan has achieved a cult status and the wine distinguishes itself from other Pomerols by having a high percentage of Cabernet Franc, often nearly 30%. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that VCC “never has the strength of a Petrus, or other Merlot-dominated wines of the plateau, but it often has a perfume and elegance that recalls a top wine from the Medoc.”

REGION

France, Bordeaux, Pomerol

Pomerol is the smallest of Bordeaux’s red wine producing regions, with only about 2,000 acres of vineyards. Located on the east side of the Dordogne River, it is one of the so-called “right bank” appellations and therefore planted primarily to Merlot. Pomerol is unique in Bordeaux in that it is the only district never to have been rated in a classification system. Some historians think Pomerol’s location on the right bank made it unattractive to Bordeaux-based wine traders, who had plenty of wine from Medoc and Graves to export to England and northern Europe. Since ranking estates was essentially a marketing ploy to help brokers sell wine, ranking an area where they did little business held no interest for them. Pomerol didn’t get much attention from the international wine community until the 1960s, when Jean-Pierre Moueix, an entrepreneurial wine merchant, started buying some of Pomerol’s best estates and exporting the wines. Today the influential Moueix family owns Pomerol’s most famous estate, Château Pétrus, along with numerous other Pomerol estates. Pomerol wines, primarily Merlot blended with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, are considered softer and less tannic than left bank Bordeaux.

VINTAGE

2019 Vieux Chateau Certan