Vieux Château Certan, Pomerol, 2023
As always, this is one of our favourite Pomerols and one of the most handsome wines produced in Bordeaux. Alexandre and Guillaume Thienpont have excelled again, capturing the essence of the vintage with their gorgeous VCC 2023. Glorious aromas of violet, bergamot and pure dark berries emerge from the glass. This segues to a core of perfectly ripe, taut cassis; so fine grained and precise with hints of cracked herbs, creamy, dark fruits and salts. Ever so gentle, with lots of detail, then a finishing flourish, a peacock's tail of spices, stones, perfumed berries - coiled, multifaceted, sensational. A VCC of immense charm. 82% Merlot and 18% Cabernet Franc.
critic reviews
The 2023 Vieux Château Certan, which contains no Cabernet Sauvignon, has a sublime bouquet, beautifully defined, with blackberry, blueberry, graphite and light marine scents in the background. Very focused. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins that lend this VCC structure. Quite "cool" in style, a healthy dash of cracked black pepper furnishes the prolonged finish, where the 18% Cabernet Franc is very expressive. To quote Alexandre Thienpont, very "restrained" in the most positive sense of that word.
A blend of 82% Merlot and 18% Cabernet Franc, Vieux Chateau Certan 2023 has a pH of 3.74 and it is deep garnet-purple in color. Notes of fresh blackberries, juicy plums, and black cherries slowly emerge from the glass, opening out to fragrant notes of violets, star anise, and black truffles, followed by wafts of wood smoke and cardamom. The medium-bodied palate is taut and muscular with firm, rounded tannins and seamless acidity, finishing with many, many layers of earth, spice, and floral notes. This is pure latent power.
Fresh floral heights to the aromatics, then dark berry fruits and a core of muscles of the palate, classically-weighted with grip and texture, white pepper spice and salted cracker salinity on the finish. Stretches out through the palate, feels gloriously old school, full of hidden depths and pleasures. 43hl/h yield, harvest September 18 through to 29. Youngest vines here are 1988, which helps give the complexity that is so celebrated at VCC.
The 2023 Vieux Chateau Certan bursts from the glass with demonstrative aromas of dark berries, pencil shavings, violets mingled with notions of burning embers, iris, crushed mint and black tea. Medium to full-bodied, velvety and sensual, with a gourmand attack that segues into a layered, enveloping mid-palate, it's polished and perfumed, with a sweet core of fruit and a long, gently oak-inflected finish. This year's blend of 82% Merlot and 18% Cabernet Franc checks in at 14% alcohol and a pH of 3.74.