Vieux Chateau Certan (Futures Pre-sale) 2011

"A beautifully-perfumed wine with ripe, soft tannins and sweet fruit. It has density yet the tannins are so velvety and ripe.
Barrel Sample: 95-97 Points"

97 Points

Wine Enthusiast

"This has a dark ganache and loamy profile that belies the vintage's lighter, fresher profile, and the wine cuts a broad swath but stays well-defined, with dense tobacco and fig on the finish. An impressive effort and an early challenger for one of the wines of the vintage.
Barrel Sample: 93-96 Points"

96 Points

Wine Spectator

"Made in a big, bold style with 13.6% natural alcohol, it reveals a stunning perfume of graphite, mulberries, black currants, kirsch, licorice and forest floor. This full-bodied, dense Pomerol transcends the overall vintage character. Thienpont compared the style of the 2011 with their 2000, but with more density to its core because of the extremely low yields. Only 60% of the crop made it into this cuvee. It will need 5-8 years of cellaring, and should still be intact and drinking beautifully at age 30.
Barrel Sample: 94-96 Points"

96 Points

The Wine Advocate

"What a nose. Such beautiful aromas of Cabernet Franc here with licorice and tea and ark fruits. Wet earth too. Full body, with firm and racy tannins and a beautiful finish of chocolate and berries. Intense. Cashmere texture. 29% Cabernet Franc in this with the rest in Merlot with a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cabernet Franc comes mostly from a parcel from planted in 1958.
Barrel Sample: 95-96 Points"

96 Points

James Suckling

"Purple-ruby. Perfumed, cabernet franc-dominated aromas of strawberry, violet and bitter cocoa. Very refined on the palate, with vibrant acidity framing and lifting the very pure red fruit and mineral flavors. This beautiful Pomerol will develop slowly and gracefully. Alexandre Thienpont believes that the cabernet franc, which seemed to suffer from the heat of 200 and 2010, has given a cashmere feel to what he thinks is a classic wine that will age well. I couldn't agree more, as this is probably my wine of the vintage.
Barrel Sample: 92-95 Points"

95 Points

International Wine Cellar