Vieux Chateau Certan 2017

This delivers a terrific rush of raspberry ganache and steeped plum fruit that holds center stage throughout, flanked by singed apple wood and dried anise notes and backed on the finish by hints of Lapsang souchong tea, warm fruitcake and mineral. A step ahead of the pack in this vintage. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2022 through 2040. 3,666 cases made.

With a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, this wine is solidly tannic, with intense acidity to balance the ripe berry flavors and structure. The wine is destined for long aging with its structure and powerful tannins. At the same time, juicy acidity gives vibrancy. Drink from 2024.

Even at three years old the aromatics are rich and fairly open, with touches of grilled cedar and dark berry fruits. Enjoyable if less powerful than many other years from this estate, given lift and focus by tight rosemary spice and tobacco leaf through the finish. This has a more exuberant feel than when just bottled while maintaining the pure focus to the fruit. No frost here, giving a pretty much normal yield of 37hl/ha. 3.75pH

Very dark crimson in the glass. Restrained clove and meaty tones, together with elegant and lifted bramble fruits, sweet violets and a touch of coconut. The leafy character here is just an undertone. Full-bodied with almost silky tannin at first, becoming dustier on the finish, with refreshing acidity. Savory, leathery palate that’s extracted yet polished. Full of tension, balancing the warming aftertaste. Drinkable now, but best in 10 years.

Just as it was en primeur, the 2017 Vieux Château Certan is regal and soaring right out of the glass. Inky blue and purplish fruit, chocolate, licorice, lavender, spice and mint come together in a dense, dark and powerful Pomerol. The 2017 is an explosive, vivid wine of monastic beauty. In this vintage, VCC is especially dark and somber, which adds to a real feeling of mysterious beauty. It is a towering achievement from Alexandre and Guillaume Thienpont.

Deep in color, the wine pops with the perfume of cocoa, flowers, black plums, truffle and licorice. From there you'll find depth and concentration of flavor. The fruit is dark, polished, sensuous, velvety and long. There is vibrancy, florality, old vine intensity and chocolate coated cherries in the finish -- a denouement that goes on for 50 seconds or more. Blending 81% Merlot with 14% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine reached 14.2% ABV with a pH of 3.75. Picking took place September 12, September 17, September 18 and October 2. It is interesting to note the picking dates and blends are quite similar to 2016. Sixty-seven percent of the harvest was included in the Grand Vin, which is much higher than usual.

Deep, dark ruby with purple reflections, brightening at the rim. Fine savoury nuances, with hints of clove, blackberry, black cherry, and fresh orange zest. On the palate, it is complex and taut with a savoury core, firm, supporting tannins, and pleasant dark minerality, before a pronounced fruit finish. With savoury nuances and great length, it is a future classic of the house and is among the wines of the vintage.

Possibly the wine of the vintage, the 2017 Vieux Chateau Certan is a blend of 81% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon from the highest point on the Pomerol plateau. Deep purple, with a heavenly bouquet of creme de cassis, blueberries, scorched earth, crushed violets, tobacco, and earth, this beauty is full-bodied, has incredible depth of fruit, ripe, present tannins, integrated acidity, and a great finish. This estate has been on fire of late, and this is undoubtedly a worthy follow-on to the otherworldly 2015 and 2016. It has the depth of fruit and texture to offer pleasure even today, yet a solid 7-8 years of cellaring are warranted, and it should be long-lived. Bravo!

81% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.2% vol., 37 hl/ha. Deep purple-garnet colour with a violet rim. Captivating alpine blueberries and fragrant violets, followed by chocolate pastilles and a hint of blackcurrant. On the palate, silky tannins and brilliant freshness—what a precise VCC. The tightly knit finish delivers an intoxicating blueberry concentrate that, together with its vibrant energy and breed, seems never-ending—a great Pomerol in perfect harmony with enormous ageing potential. Magnificent!

Kunz Fassprobe 18: (81% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37 hl/ha, 14.2% alc. by vol.) Dense, elegant, fresh bouquet with raspberry jelly, mint, fresh herbs and cedar. A dense, layered, elegant palate with finely creamy fruit, plenty of fine tannins, a varied, concentrated aromatic profile, a tightly knit, finely muscular structure, and a long, silky, powerful finish.

(81% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37 hl/ha, 14.2% alc.) Dense, elegant, fresh bouquet: raspberry jelly, mint, fresh herbs, cedar. Dense, multi-layered, elegant palate with finely creamy fruit, plenty of very fine tannins, a varied, concentrated aromatic profile, a tightly knit, finely muscular structure, and a long, silky, powerful finish. 19/20 2025 - 2045

"Gothic wine" was the comment of Alexandre Thienpont on the 2017 vintage of Vieux Chateau Certan. The blend this year is 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and the color is deep garnet-purple. It needs a lot of shaking to wake up notes of Morello cherries, black raspberries, tar, and licorice, with emerging scents of plum preserves, black truffles, and crushed rocks, plus a hint of candied violets. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is tightly knit with loads of densely wound layers and fantastic freshness, supported by very fine-grained tannins, finishing long and mineral-laced. It should be very long lived! Two of Pomerol's most extraordinary vineyards are owned by members of the Thienpont family: Vieux Chateau Certan by Alexandre Thienpont and Le Pin by Jacques Thienpont, who are cousins. While the sites are a brief 5-minute drive by car from one another, the terroirs are very different. VCC is 1/3 each of clay, clay-gravel, and gravel, while Le Pin is mainly gravel with clay which lies about 2-3 meters below. Both properties knocked it out of the park during the trio of 2015, 2016, and 2017 vintages.

Creamy, juicy tannins, carried by a silky, beautifully melt-in-the-mouth texture. Clearly very charming.

Deep color with violet highlights. The VCC bouquet is marked by freshness and licorice wood, followed by wafts of lavender and thyme. Pleasant notes of dark berries such as blackcurrant and blueberries. I also notice a hint of mint. There is plenty of density and depth on the palate, where tannins and an acidic framework support each other. The tannins are tight and powerful, yet fine-grained, with a carrying breadth that ideally manages the tension of the structure. This framework underpins the aromatic expression on the finish and brings juiciness as well as pedigree. The finish lives up to what the palate suggests: precise, refreshing, and persistent. A great wine with excellent ageing potential.

Composed of 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2017 Vieux Château Certan sports a deep garnet-purple color. No mincing about, the bouquet absolutely prances out of the glass with stunning scents of candied violets, chocolate-covered cherries, roses and eucalyptus over a core of black plum preserves, mulberries, black raspberries and blueberry pie plus wafts of licorice, iron ore and truffles. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has fantastic balance and expression, with very fine-grained, silt-like tannins and well-knit freshness, finishing with epic length and perfume.