Vieux Château Certan -Subskription-

96-98/100 Vinous The 2023 Vieux Château Certan is like a drug. Its exotic aromatics, deeply layered fruit and sublime textures are just captivating. I tasted the 2023 from an assembled base blend and four core components. Every wine was nothing short of breathtaking. When I think of the archetypes of greatness in Bordeaux, VCC is one of them. The 2023 is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Like all producers, Alexandre and Guillaume were forced to decide whether to pick their Cabernets before or after the September rains. As it turned out, none of the lots picked before the rain made it into the Grand Vin. Only those picked later were deemed of high enough quality. - Antonio Galloni 97-99/100 The Wine Cellar Insider Black cherries, flowers, chocolate, truffles, blackberries and a touch of cinnamon produce the aromatic profile. Elegance and power do not always go together. But with 2023 VCC, this is exactly what you find. There is intensity, richness, velvety-tannins, chalky accents, and layers of chocolate-infused, dark pit fruits, with wet earth, and spice. The wine is rich, full, and deep, with uplifting acidities providing energy to the long, sensuous finish. The temperate conditions of the growing season, without extreme variances is what allowed the vintage to develop its characteristics. In the cellars, the extractions were slow, soft, and easy. Pump overs were reduced by 30% this year as well. The wine blends 82% Merlot, and 18% Cabernet Franc. 14% ABV, 3.74 pH. The harvest took place September 18 - September 29. Drink from 2029-2060. 97-99 Pts. - Jeff Leve 96-98/100 Jeb Dunnuck Not harvested until after the rains in the middle of September, the 2023 Vieux Château Certan is based on 82% Merlot and 18% Cabernet Franc that was brought up in roughly 60% new oak. It's another ripe, medium to full-bodied, aristocratic, beautifully textured Pomerol that has ample black cherry, mulberry, chocolate, and tobacco-like aromatics, medium to full-bodied richness, flawless overall balance, and ripe tannins, as well as a certain salinity on the finish. Checking in at 14% alcohol and a pH of 3.74, it should surpass the 2014 and is a beautiful, elegant, classic wine that every reader would love to have in their cellar. - Jeb Dunnuck 97-98/100 Jamessuckling.com A very fine and polished young VCC with subtle density and a racy backbone of tannins. Compact with well-toned muscles and a persistent finish. Very silky. Really grows at the end. 82% merlot and 18% cabernet franc. - James Suckling 94-96/100 Wine Advocate The 2023 Vieux Château 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. - William Kelley 94-96/100 Vinous The 2023 Vieux Château Certan was picked from September 18 to 29. This year, there is no Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend as the fruit did not reach full ripeness, according to winemaker Guillaume Thienpont. The fruit was cropped at 43hL/ha as they suffered no mildew, there were one-third fewer pump-overs, and this vintage matured in two-thirds new oak. It has a well-defined bouquet, a little sultry at first: black cherry, iodine, violet flower and a touch of crushed stone. This unfurls beautifully in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins. Broader in the mouth compared to the Le Pin that I tasted right before, this is slightly more savory in style thanks to the 18% Cabernet Franc, landing gently on the finish. This is an elegant, slightly earthier VCC that will age beautifully in the bottle. - Neal Martin 96/100 Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux 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. - Jane Anson 99/100 Falstaff Deep dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, delicate edge brightening. Delicate herbal savouriness, nougat, dark cherry, a hint of clove, candied orange zest. Com- plex, juicy and silky, fine extract sweetness, nuances of black cherry and blackber- ry, fine, round tannins, fresh minerality on the finish, animating, hides its muscles perfectly, shows great length, secure and certain ageing potential. A classic. - Peter Moser 97-99/100 Yvesbeck.wine VCC zeigt von Anfang an Frische und Frucht! Die Frische ist in diesem Jahr nicht dem Cabernet Sauvignon zu verdanken, da die Trockenperiode ihn in seiner Entwicklung blockiert hat. Alexandre Thienpont zog es vor, sich auf Merlot und Cabernet Franc zu konzentrieren. Der Wein hat Substanz und Tiefe, mit einem salzigen Hauch, der das Finale dynamisiert und den Charme der Tannine ergänzt. Der Wein ist kraftvoll und elegant, fein und imposant. Das verdankt er seinem Stammbaum, seinem Terroir und seinen Lehmböden. Ein linearer, strenger, aber dennoch charmanter Wein mit Spannungen, die als Pufferzone fungieren. Ein sehr großer Wein mit schönen Visionen bezüglich Zukunft! - Yves Beck 96/100 My Bettane + Desseauve Le cabernet franc trame la bouche et lui apporte le panache indispensable pour équilibrer la suavité du merlot. Style inimitable et intemporel propre à la propriété avec ce millésime qui se révèle très classique. - Bettane & Desseauve