VIEUX CHATEAU CERTAN 2023

Description

Yves Beck 97-99 points www.yvesbeck.wine

82% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc
Vieux Château Certan affiche d’entrée de la fraîcheur et du fruit ! La fraîcheur n’est pas due au Cabernet Sauvignon cette année, car l’épisode aride l’a bloqué dans son évolution. Alexandre Thienpont a préféré se concentrer sur le merlot et le Cabernet Franc. Le vin a du fond, de la profondeur, avec une touche saline qui redynamise la finale et qui complète le charme des tannins. Le vin est puissant et élégant, fin et imposant. Il le doit à son pédigrée, à son terroir, à ses argiles. Un vin linéaire, strict, mais quand même charmant avec des tensions qui font office de zone tampon. Un très grand vin avec de belles visions d’avenir et, surtout, de garde !  2030-2068

Georgina Hindle 98 points  www.decanter.com 
Beautiful purple colour in the glass, vibrant and alive. Great florality; raspberry, cherry, cranberry, lots of fresh red summer berries and lots of aromatics. Broad and expansive on the palate, delicate yet powerfu with flavours of crushed herbs, stones and mint – sappy and saline. Feels very VCC on the palate, combining grippy Cabernets with fruity, fleshy Merlot. A statuesque and structured wine with no harshness. Effortless and totally moreish. I love it, classicism in the very best way. There’s something incredible about this wine, full of life and juiciness. Excellent. 3.74pH (lower than usual). 4% press wine. Ageing two thirds new oak. 42hl/ha yield.

William Kelley 94-96 points www.erobertparker.com
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.

Neal Martin 94-96 www.vinous.com
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.

Antonio Galloni 96-98 www.vinous.com
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.