2018 Vieux Chateau Certan - Pomerol AC

*This is complex, precise and concentrated but tempered with stunning potential. There is so much flavour and juice here with crushed tobacco and liquorice root alongside richly textured raspberry and blueberry fruits - all extremely well balanced and yet reaching down into the depths promising great ageing. A VCC that is full of layers, with the beauty of this vintage making them all relatively discernible even at this early stage because the tannins are not balled together but allow the light in between. An excellent year for Cabernet Franc, which always favours this estate - owner Alexandre Thienpont said that they weren’t just useful but essential this year, giving freshness and focus to the hedonism of the Merlots, and dampening down the alcohols. No press wine in the blend as yet, and not sure if they will use it. A yield of 40hl/ha.* (98-100/100)

Falstaff Magazin – 98 pts – PM: *Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Einladende frische Herzkirschen, feines Brombeerkonfit, zarte Edelholzwürze. Stoffig, extraktsüß, dabei hochelegant, feine, tragende Tannine, mineralisch-salzig, zitroniger Touch, angenehme Frische, überzeugende Länge, sicheres Reifepotenzial für viele Jahrzehnte, vermittelt eine ungemeine Trinkfreudigkeit.* - 05/2019

*The 2018 Vieux Château Certan is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. Yields were 40 hectoliters per hectare. The wine has a pH of 3.78, 14.4% alcohol and an IPT (total polyphenol index) of 77. Medium to deep garnet-purple—it has a very vibrant color—it drifts effortlessly out of the glass with wonderfully intense, beautifully delineated scents of red roses, black raspberries, kirsch and Darjeeling tea before the powerful, profound black fruits kick in: baked plums, wild blueberries, molten licorice and mulberries with touches of cigar box, cinnamon stick, tapenade and truffles. Full-bodied, rich, densely packed and revealing layer upon layer of red and black fruits with an incredible array of floral and spicy sparks, it has a high level of super ripe, incredibly fine, velvety soft tannins and fantastic freshness (not just from acid but from bright, crunchy fruit). It finishes very long, marvelously layered and with such jaw-dropping brightness from the fruit, the end is almost electric. Incredible.* (97-100/100)

Vinum Magazin – 19/20pts: *Immense aromatische Komplexität, Tannin mit Schliff, grosse Länge und Frische, dicht, mit Tiefe... komplizierte Jahrgänge gelingen hier immer ganz besonders gut! Gehört zu den besten Weinen des Jahres.* - 06/2019

WeinWisser – 19,5/20pts - WL: *70 % Merlot, 30 % Cabernet Franc, 40 hl/ha, 14,4 % vol. Purpurgranat mit violettem Rand. Ein verspieltes Heidelbeerbouquet, dahinter duftige Veilchen, helle Malznoten, belgische Nougatpralinen. Im zweiten Ansatz dunkle Edelhölzer und würziges Cassis. Am Gaumen mit seidiger Textur und stützenden, konzentrierten Tanninen. Geniale Frische und Komplexität. Im katapultartigen, nicht enden-wollenden Finale ein Crescendo von blauen Beeren, Lakritze und Wildkirschen. Die magische Rasse macht für mich den Unterschied. Für Alexandre ist es schlichtweg: "An amazing vintage."* – 04/2019

JancisRobinson.com – 17,5/20pts – JR: *Tasted blind. Deep ruby colour. Dried cherry and leathery spice on the nose here. Kirsch. Full bod Tasted blind. Intense nose. Sweet start but fragrant. Lots of alcohol on the end but some subtlety in the middle. Real concentration. And quite a bit of fine, dry tannin on the very end.* - 01/2022

JamesSuckling.com – 99-100pts - JS: *This is a significant VCC with masses of fruit and juicy tannins. It’s fresh, but impresses you with the rich and powerful fruit. A tower of a wine. Incredible depth and density. Thick and muscular. It is 30 per cent cabernet franc, the rest merlot.*

Vinous.com – 97+ pts – AG: *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.* - 03/2021

*While the tannins give this wine a firm character, it is the perfumed, ripe Cabernet Franc that is so expressive and gives the wine its structured, complex character. Spice from the wood aging shines through, but the weight of the fruit is impressive and adds elegance. There’s long aging potential for this fabulous wine.* (98-100/100)

Vinous.com – 96 pts – NM: *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!* - 03/2021