External search Google (images) Wine Advocate Wine Spectator Burghound Wine-Searcher
Vintages 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 Show more
From this producer Show all wines All tasting notes
|
Drinking Windows and Values |
Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.9 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 16 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | Tasted by BurgundySimon on 12/25/2023 & rated 93 points: Very surprising after the last few older Bordeaux, which were mainly tertiary aromas. This one still had a good amount of fruit left. I wouldn't keep it for to much longer unless you like more tertiary flavors feels on top now. Smooth tannins and long finish. There is quite a lot of bottle variation. (150 views) | | Tasted by glassofhans on 4/13/2021 & rated 91 points: Nice green notes that is typical of cabernet franc, the merlot is not coming through strongly, probably because of the winemaker's decision to go more heavy on Cab Franc in the hot 2003 vintage - pomerols that still go heavy on merlot tastes excessively jammy. Nice tertiary flavours are emerging, drinking well now, unlikely to improve too much. (1228 views) | | Tasted by James_Blake on 9/6/2016 & rated 95 points: Drinking very well now and for many years to come. (4343 views) | | Tasted by wineappreciation on 8/26/2016 & rated 90 points: Ripe strawberry, some rhubarb, hint of pencil shaving; smooth, slightly ethereal, well resolved but present tannins, appealing but a little short (3975 views) | | Tasted by JonnyG on 3/14/2016 & rated 91 points: Nowhere near the ethereal 2009, but still a lovely bottling, with all the signature notes of mocha, green pepper, cherry and licorice. A bit too concentrated, but surely a function of dealing with the hot vintage. (4611 views) | | Tasted by winedrummer666 on 12/20/2015 & rated 96 points: Even for a bad vintage like 2003, this Certan de May 2003 is outstanding. Decanted for three hours. It´s fat taste is just what a great Pomerol should be like. Wow. Drinking well now and 20 years plus. (4606 views) | | Tasted by Vinterest Angus on 2/13/2015 & rated 93 points: Lovely (4493 views) | | Tasted by Miceri on 12/30/2012 & rated 94 points: Dark red; open spiced nose; very nicely balanced, some leather, nice sweetness, good depth and slightly tannic bite; quite long, intense and very pleasant aftertaste (3597 views) | | Tasted by Miceri on 6/23/2008: Dark colour; good taste; licorice etc; Good, but the price? (4486 views) | | Tasted by awinestory on 3/19/2007 & rated 90 points: Garnet colored wine reveals an aroma of blueberries, cassis, spice, vanilla, and violet reflected on the palate. Medium plus acids and tannin gives way to a medium full body and smooth, long finish. (3899 views) |
| Château Certan de May Producer website - Read more about Chateau Certan de May
VINEYARD: Château Certan de May, fully named Château Certan de May de Certan, is located on the Right Bank of the Bordeaux wine region, in the commune of Pomerol in the department Gironde. As all wine produced in this appellation, Château Certan de May is unclassified but the estate is long estimated among the great growths of the region. It is located in the east of the appellation, on the Pomerol plateau between Vieux-Châteaux Certan and Pétrus, and directly opposite Le Pin.
The estate's name has origins from the founding family, presumably of Scottish origin sometimes documented as Demay, who lived in France since the Middle Ages and were installed in Pomerol at the end of the 16th century. Archives state the family by Royal ordonnance became masters of the fief of Certan, or Sertan, making this the oldest vignoble of the district, an area that also encompassed present day Vieux Château Certan and Château Certan-Giraud. The French Revolution led to the division of the domain, leaving the de May family with a small parcel of the original property, then called Petit-Certan.
WINEMAKING: The 14-acre vineyard made of 1/3 clay and 2/3 deep gravel is entirely located on the famous south-east part of the Pomerol plateau, which produces the best wines. It is planted with 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.Red Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest" 2019 vintage reports 2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage." 2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman "The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanLibournais Libournais (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux) - Read more about St. Emilion and its wines - Read more about Pomerol and its wines
Saint Emilion Grat Classified Growth, Classified Growths, Grands Crus Classes, GCC In 1954, while the "Graves" growths had just published their own classification, the wine syndicate of Saint-Emilion, composed by wine growers, brokers and wine traders with the approval of the INAO - Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (A.O.C), decided to work on a classification for the wines of Saint Emilion. Initially, four grades were defined. These were reduced to two - First Great Classified Growth (A and B) and Great Classified Growth - in 1984.
As of Medoc's 1855 historical grading, the Saint-Emilion Great Classified Growth classification is not only based on qualitative criteria by tasting the wines on a ten years period previous to the assessment, but also on commercial considerations such as: - sales price levels - national and international commercial distribution - the estate's reputation on the market
Properties who don't manage to join the club of about sixty Classified Growths are given the denomination of Great Growth ("Grand Cru"), while the remaining wineries of the A.O.C are simply reported as "Saint-Emilion". It is to be noted that the owners must officially apply to appear in the official classification. Thus for example the famous Chateau Tertre-Roteboeuf, whose quality and reputation would easily justify to be listed among the First Great Classified Growths, does not appear here by the will of its owner, François Mitjaville.
The Saint-Emilion Great Growth classification was revised in 1969, 1985, 1996 and 2006. The only two guaranteed vintage (A.O.C) who can apply to the classification are the "Saint-Emilion Grand Cru" and "Saint-Emilion" areas.
By grading 61 properties, the 2006 revision confirmed many growths from the former classification, but also caused a number of surprises and a few inevitable disappointments. Many observers thought that the impressive progression of Perse's Chateau Pavie since 1998 would be rewarded by an upgrade into the First Great Classified Growths (A) category, but finally such was not the case.
Among the estates promoted to the First Great Classified Growths B category are Chateau Troplong-Mondot and Pavie-Macquin, whose efforts made since the Nineties fully justify their new grade. It should be noted that no First Great Classified Growth was relegated to the lower Great Classified Growth class.
Promoted growths from the status of Great Growth ("Grand Cru") to Great Classified Growth ("Grand Cru Classe") are: Chateaux Bellefont-Belcier, Destieux, Fleur Cardinale, Grand Corbin, Grand Corbin-Despagne and Monbousquet.
The demoted growths from the status of Great Classified Growth to Great Growth are: Chateaux Bellevue, Cadet Bon, Faurie de Souchard, Guadet Saint-Julien, La Tour du Pin-Figeac (Belivier), La Tour du Pin-Figeac (Moueix), Lamarzelle, Petite Faurie de Soutard, Tertre Daugay, Villemaurine and Yon-Figeac. If the recent samples of some of the above mentioned properties may justify their current downgrade, there are great chances that estates like Bellevue, Tertre Daugay or Yon-Figeac will be upgraded to their previous rankings by the next revision in 2016 as the progresses noted after 2000, but not entering in the range of vintages (1993 - 2002) appointed for the criteria of selection for the 2006 classification, are noticable.
The two following estates have completely disappeared from the Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classification: Curé-Bon-la-Madeleine (integrated meanwhile to Chateau Canon) and La Clusière (integrated meanwhile to Chateau Pavie).
Finally, no estate considered as "garagiste" has integrated the classification. Valandraud, Mondotte, Le Dome, Bellevue-Mondotte or Magrez-Fombrauge have, for the least, the potential to be ranked as Great Classified Growths. In sight of the very fine quality reached by the above mentioned estates in recent vintages as well as all the innovative wine making methods used by the "garagistes", it remains to be seen whether the authorities will dare to cross the line in 2016..?Pomerol Wikipedia | French wine guide - Read about Pomerol |
|