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 95.6 pts. and median of 95 pts. in 7 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by ggroebli on 4/26/2024 & rated 94 points: 94+
Suave, épices, déjà délicieux bien que très jeune. (486 views) | | | Tasted by Ramonee Confit on 3/14/2024 & rated 95 points: 95-96/100 (886 views) | | | Tasted by watcheslover on 3/11/2024 & rated 97 points: Hello everyone. I have almost completed my tastings of the 2021 in bottles. There will be no more big surprises (Petrus not tasted). Basically, even if this vintage is not at the level of 2016, 18, 19, 20 and 22. To my taste it is very often superior to 2014 and 2017 in any case. It is very particular with enormous finesse and above all a precision in defining each terroir that is rarely achieved. A school model if you want to introduce your future alcoholic children. And for old people like me :O), the advantage is that it will be drinkable much faster than its elders. Since I'm swamped with work these days, I only put my best notes. For a rating of a particular wine, do not hesitate to write to me;
1 Lafleur 98-99
2 Carmes H-B 98
3 Haut-Brion, Cheval Blanc, Vieux Certan, Margaux, Lafite 97
4 Montrose, Las Cases, Le Pin 96-97
And finally the Oscar for best value for money
Laroque 94-95 (1392 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 3/9/2024 & rated 97 points: In contention for wine of the vintage, and even better in the bottle than it was in the barrel, this gem pops with its display of flowers, spices, truffles, tobacco leaves, cherries, plums, and chocolate. The palate is influenced by its wealth of Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. This is a wine of finesse, freshness, refinement, elegance, and vibrancy, leaving you with lift, and energetic, red fruits with tension, precision, complexity, and length that builds during the finish. The wine blends 77% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink from 2026-2055. (1629 views) | | | Tasted by Jeff Leve on 5/20/2022 & rated 95 points: Dark ruby in color, the perfume kicks off with lilacs, violets, graphite, nutmeg, spice, plums and black cherry nuances. On the palate, the wine is fresh, vibrant, crisp, chewy and long. The salty touch of minerality in the endnote adds to all the sweet, dark red pit fruits. Refined, elegant and classic, (but in a good way) there is length, purity, tension and energy in the finish, with just a hint of spice too. The wine blends 77% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13.2% ABV. The harvest took place September 24-September - October 6. Yields were 38 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2026-2049. 94-96 (8363 views) | | | Tasted by LiteItOnFire on 4/29/2022: No notes with 400 wines tasted EP. So where to begin- this IS my favorite wine and winery (love the 2018 & 2020 Gravette de Certan). The 2021 vintage is the most pretty perfumed wine of the vintage with incredible lift and tension Not sure I met a VCC I didn’t love/like although some for sure more than others. And with those more than others, example 2010/2015/2016/2019/2020 vs say 2012, 2017 and 2014 (in their current state) I tend to prefer (not all the time but in general) darker fruit and bigger wines vs more feminine or classic so while this wasn’t an auto back the truck up for me, if your style is the opposite of mine- it is still an excellent well made wine (one of the handful on right bank). Beautiful well made feminine wine. A small buy for me. (2630 views) | | | Tasted by chatters on 4/28/2022: En-Primeur campaign for the 2021 vintage; 4/25/2022-4/29/2022 (Bordeaux): Pretty red and black plums and berries, a little sweet spice, pencil shavings, graphite, controlled oak. Juicy, medium plus intensity acidity, similar fruit profile; that red fleshiness and a sense of sappiness, slightly gritty tannins, slight alcohol warmth, a little savoury on the finish. Rather pleasant, elegant, very good. (2954 views) |
| By Jeb Dunnuck
JebDunnuck.com, Bordeaux 2021 From Bottle (4/3/2024)
(Vieux Chateau Certan) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, 2021 Bordeaux: L’Enfant Terrible (Feb 2024) (2/1/2024)
(Vieux Château Certan Vieux Château Certan Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, January 2024 (1/1/2024)
(Vieux Château Certan Pomerol Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Georgina Hindle
Decanter, Bordeaux 2021: In bottle report (11/30/2023)
(Vieux Château Certan, Merlot, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jeb Dunnuck
JebDunnuck.com, 2021 Bordeaux: A Challenging Yet Good Vintage (6/2/2022)
(Vieux Chateau Certan) Login and sign up and see review text. | By James Suckling
JamesSuckling.com (5/12/2022)
(Vieux Château Certan Pomerol, France) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, 2021 Bordeaux En Primeur: Back to Classicism (May 2022) (5/1/2022)
(Vieux Château Certan Vieux Château Certan Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Neal Martin
Vinous, Enticingly Fallible: Bordeaux 2021 En Primeur (May 2022) (5/1/2022)
(Vieux Château Certan Vieux Château Certan Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By James Lawther MW
JancisRobinson.com (4/26/2022)
(Vieux Château Certan Pomerol Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Georgina Hindle
Decanter, Bordeaux En Primeur 2021 (4/1/2022)
(Vieux Château Certan, Merlot, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Chris Kissack
Winedoctor, April 2022 (4/1/2022)
(Vieux Château Certan Pomerol Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Neal Martin
Vinous, 2+2=5: Bordeaux 2021 In Bottle (Feb 2024)
(Vieux Château Certan Vieux Château Certan Red) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JebDunnuck.com and Vinous and Winedoctor and Decanter and JamesSuckling.com and JancisRobinson.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Vieux Château CertanVieux Château Certan, or simply “VCC” as many people call it. The pink capsule is really so catchy. That was also the reason for me to get my first bottle of VCC. VCC is one of the oldest estates in Pomerol - even earlier than Petrus. In the 15th century, the Portuguese settled near the old VCC property. They called the place "Sertan" at that moment, which means desert. Most of the plants could hardly grow there, but it was perfect for grapes. Over time, "Sertan" gradually developed into the homophonic "Certan", which has been passed down as part of the name of the winery today.
There is also an interesting story about the pink capsule. In 1924, the Belgian Bordeaux wine merchant Georges Thienpont took over the château. He wanted to find out which of his clients were buying VCC. So he decided to add the pink capsule, so this pink capsule would stand out when he visited his clients’ cellars. He can easily know if without asking. In late 1980s, Alexandre Thienpont began managing Vieux Château Certan and he renovated the winemaking facilities twice - the second time in 2003. He also created a second wine ‘La Gravette de Certan.’ He is the one who began green harvesting, picking riper fruit, and reducing yields. These moves led to VCC to becoming an amazing château and Guillaume Thienpont is today following his father’s footsteps.
Producer website - Read more about Vieux Chateau Certan
Producer Website EnglishRed 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 |
|
