Vieux Château Certan 2021

Very true to style, VCC, precisely defined, with beguiling aromatic potential, slender, polished tannins, subtle elegance despite the density: unique, stylish, wonderful.

A wine you don’t want to put down. Not light, but round and full for 2021, with body and concentration, carrying its frame well with a direct piercing of flavour through the middle. Tension and tang, bite and grip, gravel and clay nuances in texture and flavour. Juicy and succulent with tobacco, wet stones, slightly creamy and chalky with red and black fruits. Not the longest in terms of the initial expression, but lovely terroir character with lots of energy. Sublime.

This wine is graceful and delicate, with a clarity and beauty showing aromas of mushrooms, bark, forest floor and violets. Cherries and raspberries, too. Medium-bodied with silky, ultra-fine tannins, it runs long and true. Very crunchy and full of acid tension, this has historical character but is still modern and brilliant. 77% merlot, 20% cabernet franc and 3% cabernet sauvignon.

As I mentioned during en primeur, the 2021 Vieux-Château-Certan is driven by the Cabernet components that represent 23% of the blend. Graphite, pencil shavings, tobacco and light gravelly scents percolate through the black fruit. This is unapologetically classic in style. The palate has exquisite balance and harmony—very poised with a perfect line of acidity. There is a linearity that suits VCC's Pomerol style and wonderful salinity on the finish that lingers. This transcends the limitations of the growing season. Outstanding.

In contention for wine of the vintage, and even better in the bottle than it was in the barrel, this gem pops with its display of flowers, spices, truffles, tobacco leaves, cherries, plums, and chocolate. The palate is influenced by its wealth of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. This is a wine of finesse, freshness, refinement, elegance, and vibrancy, leaving you with lift and energetic red fruits with tension, precision, complexity, and a finish that builds in length. The wine blends 77% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink from 2026–2055.

Dark deep ruby, purple hue to the narrow rim. Dark berry aroma, very clear, very ripe. Floral notes, tree resin. Silky and full-bodied on the palate, softly grounded, friable-grainy tannin without green tones, very dense, yet mild, lots of juiciness, great homogeneity and length, fine fruity accompaniment. An impeccably ripe harvested charmer with depth and incredible elegance.

Harvested between September 24 and October 6, the 2021 Vieux Château Certan is 77% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon (planted in 2012), raised in 65% new French oak. The alcohol reached 13.5% with a pH of 3.65. Ripe yet crunchy black cherries, sappy tobacco, spring flowers, and a hint of crushed-stone-like minerality all emerge on the nose, and it’s medium to full-bodied, with a pure, silky, seamless mouthfeel, beautiful tannins, and the vintage’s classic spine of acidity. It clearly offers pleasure today with its vibrant, elegant style, yet it will cruise in cool cellars on its overall purity, balance, and acidity.

Kunz barrel sample 2022: (77% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38 hl/ha, 13.2% vol. alcohol) Dense, elegant, complex, fresh, Burgundian-style bouquet; raspberries, strawberry blossoms, mint, cedar, fine slate, After Eight. Tightly woven, elegant, fresh palate with powerful, fine, fresh fruit, varied, fragrant aromatics, finely concentrated structure, plenty of fine tannin, a very long, powerful, explosive finish with plenty of lingering retro-olfactory notes.

(77% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38 hl/ha, 13.2% vol. alcohol) Dense, elegant, complex, fresh, Burgundian bouquet, raspberries, strawberry blossoms, mint, cedar, fine slate, After Eight. Densely woven, elegant, fresh palate with powerful, fine, fresh fruit, varied, fragrant aromatics, finely concentrated structure, lots of fine tannins, very long, powerful, explosive finish with many lingering flavors. 19/20 2028 - 2055

Skilful winemaking, with fragrant, curling aromatics, gunsmoke, and cigar. This is a year to revel in aromatics, so be sure to give it time to open up, as there is a lovely structure that curls around red roses and raspberry purée, full of joy. No chaptalisation, very light fining. 65% new oak, pH 3.63. Harvest from September 24 to October 6.

A blend of 77% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2021 Vieux Chateau Certan has a medium to deep garnet-purple color. It comes bounding out with exuberant notes of black cherries, juicy raspberries, and fresh, crunchy plums, giving way to nuances of lilacs, crushed rocks, forest floor, and garrigue. The medium-bodied palate has exhilarating tension, with fine-grained tannins and beautifully layered red and black berry flavors, finishing long with lots of mineral and floral sparks. Fireworks!

This grand vin benefits from an old-school balance, with a slender framework wrapped in luscious, pulpy fruit. On the nose, it’s a festival, where an irresistible mineral and iodized intensity shines through without artifice. The whole is extended by almost Médoc-like tannins (23% Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon) that add sap and drive to the finish.

An intense nose of flowers (chamomile, dandelion) and bee pollen, with a bucolic energy, as if nature were being bottled. On the palate, the wine is concentrated again, this time on the fruit, with a lifted, slender profile that guides and energizes it, propelled by a chalky, slate-like minerality that makes your mouth water. A divine texture gently envelops the palate.

96–98. Barrel Sample. The wine has freshness and a fine perfume that highlights the structure. There is a lovely velvet character to this wine, enhanced by the structure from the 20% Cabernet Franc in the blend. It is light, packed with fruit, beautifully aromatic.