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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 94.2 pts. and median of 94 pts. in 91 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Whistler on 12/29/2023: Needs another 5 years. After 4 hours still tight. No flaw but does not fit the profile of vcc. Odd. (1774 views) | | | Tasted by peternelson on 11/24/2023 & rated 93 points: Lovely, soft plummy notes with leather chair, slight spice box; supple, full, seamless; expansive in the mouth with good tang in the finish. Excellent shape, would have been nice to give it 5-10 more years but still enjoyable. T-day at Bri's. (1778 views) | | | Tasted by burgund on 11/5/2023 & rated 94 points: Still taken very early. Balance perfect. Cool and mellow tannins. Served to french pigions. (1933 views) | | | Tasted by rossi.wine on 10/9/2023 & rated 97 points: Almost creamy on the nose - red and dark fruit notes, spices, tobacco. Quite layered and expressive after some time in the glass. On the palate at first quite restrained and firm. Elegant and well balanced, lovely acidity, tons of fruit covering the still very noticeable tannins. A little too young still, but not unapproachable. Powerful, vibrant finish with exceptional length. Keep. 96-98 (2534 views) | | | Tasted by djhammond on 8/23/2023 & rated 97 points: Moving forward seamlessly and gradually, this is already a top notch Pomerol, and possibly a contender for the greatest VCC of all time. It is in the earlier stages of its drinking window, but with sufficient aeration, it really comes alive; this had 7 hours in the decanter, and agitated periodically in the glass for an hour thereafter, and it nailed it. (The lengths you have to go to when you are in your mid 60s, and want to enjoy your cellar without an intravenous drip!). The nose initially is primary, but eventually burst into life with ripe cherry, plum, cedar, chocolate, and graphite, and wonderful tell tale floral wafts. The palate is silky, but with sufficient bite to give a perfect balance. The finish is subtle, but is out of this world and keeps building and pushes towards 90+ seconds. This should deliver another point or two over the next decade, but at present the tannin is an initial distraction on the palate and finish. (2936 views) | | | Tasted by jmoon on 8/23/2023 & rated 96 points: Lovely when opened, but really needed an hour or two to open up, as you’d expect, but what a transition… motor oil smoothness soothed my rusty pistons. Gorgeous deep dark delicous fruit, perfectly balanced, with great depth. Just a fantastic wine, with plenty of life left. (2079 views) | | | Tasted by iBurg1229 on 8/11/2023 & rated 96 points: 13.5% ABV. Deep ruby appearance with hints of garnet at the rim. Relatively youthful appearance for an 18 year old. Glass decanted for 30 min.
Upon first whiff, I’m immediately swept off my feet by a very floral-infused nose of violets and lavender. Underneath this flower garden is a bouquet of cassis, blackberry, black plum, dark chocolate, anise, graphite, sprinkle of meat, and freshly tilled earth, which lingers persistently on the finish. Medium density on the palate with a supremely plush and silky mouthfeel. The mouth-coating tannins are fine-grained, but still on its way to full resolution (or I probably just lack patience and it just needs a longer/proper decant). Alcohol is well integrated and acidity is vibrant at perfect levels.
This is a fantastic effort from VCC and I’m looking forward to following my other ‘05s for years to come. An absolute pleasure to drink now, but this will have a long life and not close to its peak powers yet. 96+ today. (1842 views) | | | Tasted by popopdrops on 6/27/2023 flawed bottle: Dekantert. Ikke bra, ikke kork eller oksidert. Ekstremt dårlig flaske. Vent 1 år med neste. I sausen. (796 views) | | | Tasted by Peter Spijker on 6/17/2023 & rated 94 points: Very seductive wine (although not my preferred style). Approachable, rich, blackberry, plum, some earth. This will live for a long time still. (2182 views) | | | Tasted by yinha on 6/3/2023 & rated 91 points: Lucky to have tasted this, opened by a good friend at dinner. Approachable and even enjoyable at this stage but this has got a long life ahead. If you are patient, recommend to wait at least til 2025-28 to try a bottle, let the tannins resolve a bit further, more evolution to take place, the fruit shouldn’t be a problem. Patience! (2046 views) | | | Tasted by jmoon on 11/8/2022 & rated 98 points: I’m very excited as this is the first from a case, and wow what a fantastic wine. Took an hour or so to open up, the kimono revealed red fruit treasures and a bit of funk, and at two hours whoa, park the bus. Fantastic dark brawny delicious liquid silk. It’s that moment we all look for. How can this be we exclaimed. Nature at its finest. (3586 views) | | | Tasted by csimm on 11/1/2022 & rated 94 points: Bordeaux tasting - with a few pirates: Both the 2010 and 2005 VCC were bumping ‘We Got the Funk’ more than any of the other wines at the table. Not surprisingly, this 2005 carried a greater display of the heady old world profile over the 2010. The visual alone let you know it has some age on it, with some bricking on the rim and a red-orange hue encompassing the darker red cherry center. On the palate, leather, red currant, chicken skin, cedar, and plum notes make for a medium-bodied delivery, finishing slightly horizontal and hushed. I did find a hovering complexity here, one that really took well to the fare that I kept munching on throughout the tasting (I know, bad taster). This wine and the cassoulet were beautiful together. Also, the freshness on this wine was not sleepy-eyed by any means and stayed relatively consistent throughout the evening. Can it age further? Sure, but that my friend depends wholly on your stylistic predilection for “younger” or “older” wines.
I know there is a fair amount of BDX folks that, 1.) frown on me using the acronym-ish “BDX” reference in the first place, and 2.) think that there is no such thing as a top BDX (ya, I’ll keep doin’ it) whose cork should be pulled inside 25 years. For both of those things, I’ll just say that ain’t me. If you won’t lose your sanity at the thought of drinking a VCC before it’s 20th birthday, then I say drink this ’05 now. If you’re waiting for it to turn into a tawny port pumpkin, then hold for another 3,650 days. (5759 views) | | | Tasted by WineBurrowingWombat on 10/29/2022 & rated 94 points: Bordeaux tasting with some Napa outsiders (The Embrace of Silence): Aromas of deep cranberry notes, a nice barnyard funk, wet tree bark, damp earth and autumn leaves.
A soft subtle spice on the palate, soft red fruits, a bit of mushroom, soft graphite, bitter minerals, forest floor and dried wood.
I enjoyed the freshness of this compared to its younger sibling that came off as more dark. (3862 views) | | | Tasted by bsumoba on 10/29/2022 & rated 94 points: Wine: the Gathering Old World, Bordeaux (Château de Chris et Melissa): 17 year old VCC…alright let’s see what this is about. This had the most funk of all the wines tonight, but it wasn’t a bad funk. In fact, I kind of liked the barnyard profile on the nose. Mushrooms, decomposing hay, a bit of old leather boot. (3951 views) | | | Tasted by sfwinelover1 on 10/29/2022 & rated 96 points: Bordeaux and Beyond (The csimm_M Estate): A generous bring from Bryan and Kamryn to CS’s Grand BDX tasting. On the nose and palate, oodles of funk and wet earth, dried florals, black cherries, currants, cassis and plums, chocolate, tobacco, and green leafiness. Reddish brown, medium-full bodied, thick legs. Medium+ tannins which I found better integrated than several recent writers, medium acidity, no heat. Excellent complexity, VG+ intensity and persistence. Very classic BDX, at least in the mind of this irregular BDX drinker, with a lovely and sophisticated funkiness and savoriness but fruit which was findable without an electron microscope. The spine is strong here, promising a long, and possibly happier life, but for my palate, and without knowing the givers’ decanting hygiene here, this is good to go, with plenty of structure to excel with food, especially our cassoulet and rack of lamb, but also quite great as a standalone. Didn’t have quite the purity of fruit to equal the Angelus on this night for me, but a dead heat with the ‘96 Las Cases for second in the BDX category. 95-96+ (3653 views) | | | Tasted by Alex G. on 10/13/2022: This was toward the bottom of the pack amongst stiff competition from other right banks tonight. Stylistically the only one to compare it to was the '00 Pavie, and the Pavie was clearly superior. Today I am comfortable calling it a good Bordeaux, and maybe in 5-10 more years it becomes great, but then again maybe not. (2090 views) | | | Tasted by acyso on 8/25/2022 & rated 93 points: Pomerol night (Chicago, IL): A bit of an intractable wine, even though the quality was quite clear here. Next to the light and elegant 2000, this was more closed, especially due to a big dose of tannin on the finish. The fruit is present and fairly large-scaled, but it's the tannins here that push the fruit towards the background. Certainly more open than a 2005 red Burgundy, but I can't help but think that the vaunted 2005 vintage is a bit of a letdown. Maybe it'll come around? I'm not betting on it. (3361 views) | | | Tasted by Herschel Krustofski on 8/20/2022 & rated 95 points: From Coravin. Tannins still going strong but quite balanced after decanting in the glass for nearly an hour and when served alongside roast chicken on one day and venison on another.
Best served at 18C (start decanting at 13C, it will warm up). Summer room temperatures are usually too high for this.
This is excellent but falls short of heavenly expectation.
Maybe it needs a few more years. Will try a longer decant when opening the bottle. (2418 views) | | | Tasted by fcxj on 7/17/2022 & rated 92 points: Violets and plums. Medium red fruit, impeccably balanced (2945 views) | | | Tasted by djhammond on 5/5/2022 & rated 97 points: I concur with my note from last July. This is in its early stages of its drinking window, but it needs extended decanting, (preferably all day or overnight,) but you will be richly rewarded. I am finding the right bank 2005s are starting to shine and this is no exception, and this is the best vintage of VCC drinking kicking the glorious 1990 well into touch. The nose is relatively primary but starts to come to life after an hour in the glass with aromatic wafts of ripe red and black berry fruits, cedar, and tobacco underpinned with burgeoning perfumed floral notes. It is already blasting out its Pomerol identity with an opulent blast of ripe fruit on the palate and a silky velvet mouthfeel. The finish still needs to shrug off some residual tannin, but is perfectly balanced and pushes past 60 seconds. Of course this will continue to develop, and will be otherworldly in a decade hence, but it is irresistible now. (3244 views) | | | Tasted by peternelson on 5/4/2022 & rated 92 points: Medium faded ruby/purple; Red fruits, leather, higher acidity, drying fine tannins, nice, but not exciting after the Rostaing Cote Blonde. 2nd night, Light herbal character, some red cherry-soft plum, sandalwood; smooth, tangy mouthfeel, supple and sexy, less dry in the finish, really nice. 91 after opening, but the day after I liked this a bit more and give it 92. Blind Dirty Dozen TOC dinner at La Paella (2822 views) | | | Tasted by phynes on 3/7/2022 & rated 92 points: Brought to a restaurant and had little time to decant. Lovely smooth, opulent wine but feels very primary at the moment, not unlike many other 2005s. Feels like it needs 5+ years to hit its stride. (3126 views) | | | Tasted by Winemaker51 on 1/18/2022 & rated 93 points: Needs a 3+ hour decant now. Yes, more aging will help, but not past 5 years. Opens with some earthy/lesss aromas. Blows off after 2 + hours. Sandalwood, tobacco, dark cherry, etc. Nice winemaking; no excessive oak. Flavors are there and very harmonious. Touch bitter/acid that requires food to offset at this stage. Palate is amazing, and overall this needs food pairing and those who appreciates Right Bank Bordeaux. (3613 views) | | | Tasted by fcxj on 12/1/2021 & rated 92 points: Velvety, purple fruit, very clean. (3610 views) | | | Tasted by skyblue80 on 7/20/2021 & rated 96 points: Decant 1.5hr to bring the wine completely to life. Nose of chocolate, mushroom, coffee, with a tiny hint of vanilla. Overall, the nose is good, but not blown you off type. On the palate, the wine is completely amazing, layers of fruits, integrated tannin and super length. The wine is starting to enter its drinking window, highly enjoyable and should kept for next 5 to 10 years. (4220 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, 2005 Bordeaux: Here and Now (Apr 2021) (4/1/2021)
(Vieux Château Certan Vieux Château Certan Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Gilman
View From the Cellar, Sep/Oct 2020, Issue #89, Recently-Tasted Bordeaux And Revisiting the 1855 Left Bank Classification
(Vieux-Château-Certan (Pomerol)) Login and sign up and see review text. | By John Gilman
View From the Cellar, Jan/Feb 2018, Issue #73, Always the Right Time For the Right Bank Another Compendium From St. Émilion and Pomerol
(Vieux Château Certan (Pomerol) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (2/23/2017)
(Vieux Château Certan Pomerol Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Gary Walsh
The WINEFRONT (5/10/2013)
(Vieux-Chateau-Certan) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (2/20/2009)
(Vieux Château Certan Pomerol Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (2/16/2009)
(Vieux Château Certan Pomerol Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By John Kapon
Vintage Tastings, Right Bank and More (2/14/2008)
(Vieux Chateau Certan) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2007, IWC Issue #132
(Vieux Chateau Certan Pomerol) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2006, IWC Issue #126
(Vieux Chateau Certan Pomerol) Subscribe to see review text. | By Jancis Robinson, MW
JancisRobinson.com (4/17/2006)
(Vieux Château Certan Pomerol Red) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous and View From the Cellar and JancisRobinson.com and The WINEFRONT and Vintage Tastings. (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 |
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