Vieux Chateau Certan 2018

Immense aromatic complexity, polished tannins, great length and freshness, dense and deep… Here, challenging vintages always turn out especially well! One of the best wines of the year.

98–100. Barrel Sample. While the tannins give this wine a firm character, it is the perfumed, ripe Cabernet Franc that is so expressive and gives the wine its structured, complex character. Spice from the wood aging shines through, but the weight of the fruit is impressive and adds elegance. There's long aging potential for this fabulous wine.

Deep and richly spiced notes of cinnamon and smoked butterscotch along with Cabernet Franc-dominant savoury fruits. Expands in all directions, showing precision and delicately brushed tannins. They carried out extremely careful selection from their 23 plots to ensure nothing at all raisined or over-concentrated made it into the wine, and certainly there is not a trace of the drought in the flavours here, just a seductively rich texture to the body of the wine. A brilliant VCC - one to savour. Harvest from September 19 to October 9, with leisurely picking over three weeks. 3.75pH.

Toasted notes dominate the nose at first, followed by precise red-fruit character, as well as hints of clove and praline. The attack is lush and rich, creamy and chocolatey, with full body, youthful character, good weight, velvety tannins and crisp acidity. Nicely spicy finish. Impressively well handled for a warm vintage, with thick yet ripe tannins. Best after 2030.

Vieux Chateau Certan continues its string of hits with 2018. This is a hedonistic, sensual, sexy wine with cashmere tannins, perfect ripe, black cherries and plums that express their purity with ease. The wine is powerful, lush, rich, and opulent, that is already serving up its pleasures. Drink from 2026-2050.

Deep dark ruby, purple reflections, delicate bright rim. Inviting fresh cherries, fine blackberry confit, delicate noble wood savouriness. Substantial, extracted sweetness, yet highly elegant, fine, supporting tannins, mineral-salty, lemony touch, pleasant freshness, convincing length, safe ageing potential for many decades, conveys an immense drinking pleasure.

The flagship 2018 Vieux Château Certan is based on 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc and was brought up in (I suspect) roughly 50% new French oak. It tips the scale at 14.5% natural alcohol, which is the same as the 2010 (slightly higher than the 2009) and has a pH of 3.78, which is also very close to the 2010. This rock star of a Pomerol offers a kaleidoscopic array of red, black, and blue fruits, white truffle, spring flowers, tobacco, and crushed rock-like minerality on the nose. It has perfectly integrated oak, gorgeous concentration, building yet ultra-fine tannins, and not a hard edge to be found. I was able to follow this bottle for multiple days, and the large Cabernet Franc component became more and dominant, yet it never truly shut down and was always a joy to drink. Nevertheless, a good 7-8 years of bottle age are warranted, and it should evolve for 30-40 years in cold cellars. Again, the Thienpont family produces a heavenly wine that wine lovers should all have in their cellar. Along with Petrus, Conseillante, Lafleur, and a handful of others, it's one of the appellation's most singular wines.

Kunz Fassprobe 19: (70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 40 hl/ha, 14.4% vol. alcohol, 2/3 of the production as Grand Vin) A fresh, complex, finely detailed, dense bouquet: redcurrant jelly, delicate blackberry notes, a hint of liquorice, mint, and subtle graphite. The palate is finely concentrated, elegant and fresh, with dense, refined fruit, a varied, intense, sweet-toned aromatic profile, a subtly creamy texture and plenty of fine tannins. Very long, fragrant, sweet, aromatic, finely textured finish with many lingering flavours. Can still improve.

(70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 40 hl/ha, 14.4% vol. alcohol, 2/3 of production as Grand Vin) Fresh, complex, finely detailed, dense bouquet with redcurrant jelly, subtle blackberry notes, a hint of liquorice, mint and graphite. Finely concentrated, elegant, fresh palate with dense, precise fruit, a layered, deep, sweet-toned aromatic profile, a delicately creamy texture, plenty of fine tannins, and a very long, fragrant, sweet, aromatic, finely textured finish with lots of lingering flavours. Can still improve. 19/20 2026 - 2050

Alexandre and Guillaume Thienpont are deeply thoughtful, instinctive winemakers who spend most of their time outside in the vineyards, and prove once again here why VCC is such a well-loved Pomerol. Three years along and you start to see the sweeter edged Merlot fruits where during En Primeur this was very much Cabernet Franc dominant. I get a beautiful touch of strawberry and raspberry puree which is given form by precise brushstroke tannins, white pepper and smoked butterscotch. A careful selection from the 23 plots ensured only pristine fruit - meaning not overly-affected by the summer heat - made it into the wine, showing the level of commitment at this estate. Harvest September 19 to October 9, 3.75ph, 40 hl/ha yield.

Vieux Chateau Certan 2018 has a deep garnet purple color. It needs swirling to unlock scents of baked black cherries, mulberries, and smoked meats, with underlying hints of redcurrants, violets, and iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is very nuanced, with a lively backbone and super-fine tannins, and is long, long, long.

The 30% Cabernet Franc builds a vibrant mid-palate, bringing unique complexity and freshness. It carries and refines the Merlots’ slight rusticity, which is what makes this blend so distinctive. A legendary vintage.

A superb bouquet with fruity and menthol notes. Such finesse and elegance. With hints of violets, blackcurrant and blueberries, along with a touch of liquorice wood, a note that is often found in 2018. With aeration, the wine highlights its freshness even more. On the palate, it combines power and finesse. It is luscious, subtle and creamy, with powerful tannins that unfold slowly, reaching full breadth on the finish and providing superb support, while accommodating the noble character of its acidic structure. The latter reins things in slightly, bringing freshness. A truly great wine, expressive and persistent. Its finesse shines in its ability to balance power.