2008 Vieux Château Certan

Community Tasting Notes (54) Avg Score: 92.8 points

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  3/30/2024 - GNBB wrote: 92 Points

  Decanted 1hr. Intense perfumed nose, violets, meaty savouriness, almonds, black bramble fruits and some salinity. Exceptional - so VCC. Palate has light medium, very fine tannins, fresh acidity - perhaps a slight lightness to the palate but brimming with rosemary, bramble. Has good persistence but seems to be lacking some depth at the moment. A little young, needs to round out some more but will always be on the lighter end of the spectrum. Drink now-2035.

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  12/13/2023 - apple1813 Likes this wine: 93 Points

  2008 Vieux Château Certan has an admirable aromatic depth and is relatively elegant as a wine from Pomerol. The developing Pomerol is deep ruby in colour with a load of sediments. It is quite tart and reserved at first. The bottle requires six hours of in-bottle aeration to open up. Impressive aromatics of raspberry, red plum, freshly tiled soil and dark chocolate are followed by blueberry, spring flowers and a hint of incense.
  
  The mouthfeel is dry and verging full-bodied, with a medium level of balancing acidity and a medium level of integrating tannin. Flavours of dried berries, violets and cocoa transition to fine spices and tobacco in a long, delineated finish. The 13.5% alcohol is well-integrated. The empty bottle weighs 543 grams. It is not as ripe, chocolatey and richly textured as the stereotypical Pomerol. I certainly enjoy the red-fruited and elegant expression of the Merlot grapes from the region.
  
  The blend is composed of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and the balance of Cabernet Sauvignon. The vines are plated on deep clay soil, with more gravels in the topsoil for the Cabernet grapes. The must is vinified by the parcel in a mix of large stainless steel vats and used oak tanks. The wine is raised in roughly equal parts of new and used French oak barrels for 20 months.

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  7/2/2023 - timothynbond Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Deep ruby color. Bit reserved on the nose, with some coaxing yielding sweet dark berries and vanilla. Medium body, medium-plus acid, medium tannins. Black cherry, dark raspberry and tobacco on the palate. Youthful, but still accessible; would definitely hold for the future.

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  12/28/2022 - Hazeo wrote: 91 Points

  A burly Bordeaux that runs contrary to the usual feminine elegance of a Pomerol. As others mentioned slightly simple and a tad austere, but a nice Bordeaux nonetheless. Tannins are still drying and perhaps more time is needed.

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  12/26/2022 - StefanAkiko wrote:

  Opened on Christmas but discarded after four hours of remaining an overly acidic wine that I was not going to suffer at Alte Liebe (best restaurant in Yokohama)
  
  Day 1:
  Overly acidic crap.
  
  Day 2:
  The same
  
  Day 3:
  Some of what the other people are reporting can be found. However, this is heavy on the low pH. (Our BTL bought from a trusted shop in Japan.
  
  Cork measures 50 mm (short) and is of lower range quality. The stamp is jumbled in the right side, "Certain". 2008 is in a different font...

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