2020 Vieux Chateau Certan - Pomerol AC

Falstaff Magazin – (97-99) pts – PM: *Strahlende Frischfrucht, Waldbeeren, pfeffrige Töne, beeindruckend klar, nuanciert und intensiv. Perfekt reifer Cabernet Franc. Im Mund ultraseidige Gerbstoffe, cremig eingebunden, kultivierte, perfekt integrierte Säure, die Extraktspannung wird saftig aufgelöst. Der ganze Wein ist fein und intensiv in einem, mineralisch grundiert, mit integriertem Alkohol, ein Wein mit Dichte und Druck, aber komplett auf Finesse angelegt, sehr lang.* - 05/2021

JancisRobinson.com – 18++/20pts – JL: *Deep, intense colour. Lovely open expression of fruit on the nose with floral notes and plenty of lift and relief. Palate ripe but vinous and sappy, the tannins finely honed offering a velvety texture. Contained power and concentration behind. Slight glow but remains digeste. Another top year.* - 04/2021

Vinous.com - (96-98) pts - AG: *A powerful, vertical wine, the 2020 Vieux Château Certan is endowed with tremendous intensity right out of the gate. Everything about the 2020 is dialed up. The fruit is huge, as are the tannins. Black cherry, licorice, new leather, spice and bittersweet chocolate saturate the palate in a wine that conveys opulence from start to finish. Yields were just 30 hectoliters per hectare, well below the norm of 40-42. The blend is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, in other words a high percentage of Franc. There is no Cabernet Sauvignon in the final blend this year, the result of dehydration on the vine. The 2020 is fabulous. I can't wait to taste it from bottle.* - 06/2021

Vinous.com – (96-98) pts – NM: *The 2020 Vieux Château Certain is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc (no Cabernet Sauvignon this year). Drought retarded vigor, particularly with respect to the older vines, and picking was carried out September 14–24 for the Merlot and September 28–29 for the Cabernet Franc. Examined over a couple of hours, it delivers intense and quite opulent black cherries, blueberry and shavings of black truffle and iodine, becoming increasingly floral with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with impressive structure and bags of freshness. There is plenty of sappy black fruit, lip-smacking underlying salinity and a finish that is a doppelganger for Lafleur (despite containing less Cabernet Franc). A gorgeous VCC that exudes both density and refinement.* - 05/2021