Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Vieux Château Certan checks in as 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon that spent 18 months in two-thirds new French oak. Incredible aromatics of blackcurrants, mulled cherries, chocolate, woodsmoke, and flowery, spicy nuances all give way to a full-bodied Vieux Château Certan that builds incrementally on the palate, with flawless overall balance, a deep, layered mouthfeel, and velvety tannins.
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Vinous
The 2022 Vieux Château Certan is s total stunner. Readers will find a magical wine, a Pomerol that satisfies both the intellectual and hedonistic senses. Vertical and explosive, with stunning presence, the 2022 VCC simply has it all. Time in the glass reveals myriad shades of nuance. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, menthol, licorice and plum literally soar out of the glass. The tannins are present but nearly buried by the wine's deep, layered fruit. But more than anything else, it is the balance, the total sense of harmony, that is most impressive.
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James Suckling
This is full-bodied with fine tannins that spread out across the palate, a dusty cashmere texture kicking in at the end. So caressing and pleasing, I can’t spit.
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Decanter
Great expressiveness on the nose; perfumed blackcurrants, black cherries, strawberries, notes of dark chocolate, graphite and liquorice - smells serious. Supple and taught on the palate but with a really juicy core that gives life and energy. Tannins are excellent, giving weight and texture - a combination of chewy and fleshy but with a crushed stone and spiced edge. Lively, bright, intense, concentrated and suave. It’s rich, broad, muscular, complex and nuanced but at the same time stylish with lots of life, balance and freshness. This leaves the most gorgeous lingering expression and a sense that it’s going to be both extremely accessible in its youth and have great ageing potential.
Barrel Sample: 98 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Vieux Château Certan is deep and harmonious, unwinding in the glass with aromas of inky blackberries and cherries mingled with scents of burning embers, truffle and lilac. Full-bodied, dense and layered, it's rich and enveloping, its concentrated core of sweet fruit framed by powdery tannins and juicy acids. Integrated, complete and precise, this blend of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon is a brilliant vintage for Vieux Château Certan.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
A source of exceptionally sensual and glamorous red wines, Pomerol is actually a rather small appellation in an unassuming countryside. It sits on a plateau immediately northeast of the city of Libourne on the right bank of the Dordogne River. Pomerol and St-Émilion are the stars of what is referred to as Right Bank Bordeaux: Merlot-dominant red blends completed by various amounts of Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Sauvignon. While Pomerol has no official classification system, its best wines are some of the world’s most sought after.
Historically Pomerol attached itself to the larger and more picturesque neighboring region of St-Émilion until the late 1800s when discerning French consumers began to recognize the quality and distinction of Pomerol on its own. Its popularity spread to northern Europe in the early 1900s.
After some notable vintages of the 1940s, the Pomerol producer, Petrus, began to achieve great international attention and brought widespread recognition to the appellation. Its subsequent distribution by the successful Libourne merchant, Jean-Pierre Mouiex, magnified Pomerol's fame after the Second World War.
Perfect for Merlot, the soils of Pomerol—clay on top of well-drained subsoil—help to create wines capable of displaying an unprecedented concentration of color and flavor.
The best Pomerol wines will be intensely hued, with qualities of fresh wild berries, dried fig or concentrated black plum preserves. Aromas may be of forest floor, sifted cocoa powder, anise, exotic spice or toasted sugar and will have a silky, smooth but intense texture.