VIEUX Château CERTAN
Red
- 2021
- Pomerol
Vieux Château Certan is one (the last?) of the very few Bordeaux grands crus where the owners, Alexandre Thienpont and his son Guillaume since 2011, are still the only cellar masters on board. Thanks to its Cabernet Franc (30% on average), Vieux-Certan offers a firm, distinguished and refined version of Pomerol, closer to Lafleur than Petrus. Its 2022 vintage has been showered with praise, as in Vinous, where the two tasters (Galloni and Martin) each rated it 100/100.
The 2021 vintage in the press:
La Revue du Vin de France (Guide 2025): 97/100 “This great wine benefits from the balance of yesteryear, with a slender frame enveloped by pulpy, greedy fruit. On the nose, it's a festival, with irresistible mineral and iodine intensity”.
Vinous (A. Galloni - February 2024) : 98/100 “ Vieux Château Certan 2021 could well be the wine of the vintage in the Right Bank. Intensely aromatic and nuanced, with exceptional balance, the 2021 is immediately classy. Of course, it doesn't have the richness or density of most previous vintages, but it more than makes up for it with sublime harmony and great freshness.”
Vinous (N. Martin - February 2024) : 96/100 “Aromas of graphite, pencil sharpener, tobacco and light gravel melt into the black fruit. The style is resolutely classic. The palate is deliciously balanced and harmonious, with perfect acidity. There's a linearity befitting the VCC's Pomerol style and a wonderful salinity on the finish that lingers. This wine transcends the limits of the vintage. Exceptional."
- To keep or to drink :
- Wait 3 to 5 years
- Apogée :
- 2025-2040
From the same producer
-
Second wine of the Vieux Château Certan, where we find the authenticity, the race and the seriousness of the great wine.
The 2022 vintage in the press:
Vinous (A. Galloni - January 2025): 92/100 "The 2022 La Gravette de Certan, 100% Merlot, is quite the powerhouse. Almost shockingly ripe and intense by the estate's standards, La Gravette is not exacty subtle. It does offer tons of immediacy. Gravette is mostly young vines planted in 2010, with one parcel that touches Lafleur and the other next to Le Pin, plus about 4% of press fractions. Succulent dark cherry/plum fruit, new leather, licorice, spice and new leather are all dialed up to the maximum. La Gravette is a bit over the top in 2022, but who cares?"
More- To keep or to drink:
- Ready to drink
- Apogée:
- 2025-2040
-
Second wine of the Vieux Château Certan, where we find the authenticity, the race and the seriousness of the great wine.
The 2021 vintage in the press:
La Revue du Vin de France (Guide 2025): 93/100 Coup de ♥ “La Gravette, a selection of young Merlot vines, enchants us with its sapidity and gourmandise. The wine benefits from an almost Ligerian acid support, underlining millimetric tannins and intense salinity.”
Vinous (A. Galloni - February 2024): 92/100 “The Gravette de Certan 2021 is 100% Merlot from the estate's youngest vines. Supple, soft and quite approachable, the 2021 is a pleasant wine to drink now and over the next decade. Red/purple fruits, lavender, mocha and spices are in the spotlight.”
More- To keep or to drink:
- Ready to drink
- Apogée:
- 2025-2040
-
Second wine of the Vieux Château Certan, where we find the authenticity, the race and the seriousness of the great wine.
The 2021 vintage in the press:
La Revue du Vin de France (Guide 2025): 93/100 Coup de ♥ “La Gravette, a selection of young Merlot vines, enchants us with its sapidity and gourmandise. The wine benefits from an almost Ligerian acid support, underlining millimetric tannins and intense salinity.”
Vinous (A. Galloni - February 2024): 92/100 “The Gravette de Certan 2021 is 100% Merlot from the estate's youngest vines. Supple, soft and quite approachable, the 2021 is a pleasant wine to drink now and over the next decade. Red/purple fruits, lavender, mocha and spices are in the spotlight.”
More- To keep or to drink:
- Ready to drink
- Apogée:
- 2025-2040
-
Second wine of the Vieux Château Certan, where we find the authenticity, the race and the seriousness of the great wine.
More- To keep or to drink:
- Ready to drink
- Apogée:
- 2025-2040
-
Second wine of the Vieux Château Certan, where we find the authenticity, the race and the seriousness of the great wine.
More- To keep or to drink:
- Ready to drink
- Apogée:
- 2024-2034
-
Vieux Château Certan is one (the last?) of the very few Bordeaux grands crus where the owners, Alexandre Thienpont and his son Guillaume since 2011, are still the only cellar masters on board. Thanks to its Cabernet Franc (30% on average), Vieux-Certan offers a firm, distinguished and refined version of Pomerol, closer to Lafleur than Petrus. Its 2022 vintage has been showered with praise, as in Vinous, where the two tasters (Galloni and Martin) each rated it 100/100.
The 2022 vintage in the press:
Vinous (A. Galloni - January 2025): 100/100 "The 2022 Vieux Château Certan is 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. I simply can't ask anything more of the 2022, hence its lofty and well-deserved rating. Bravo!"
More- To keep or to drink:
- Wait 3 to 5 years
- Apogée:
- 2025-2040
-
Vieux Château Certan is one (the last?) of the very few Bordeaux grands crus where the owners, Alexandre Thienpont and his son Guillaume since 2011, are still the only cellar masters on board. Thanks to its Cabernet Franc (30% on average), Vieux-Certan offers a firm, distinguished and refined version of Pomerol, closer to Lafleur than Petrus. Its 2022 vintage has been showered with praise, as in Vinous, where the two tasters (Galloni and Martin) each rated it 100/100.
The 2022 vintage in the press:
Vinous (A. Galloni - January 2025): 100/100 "The 2022 Vieux Château Certan is 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. I simply can't ask anything more of the 2022, hence its lofty and well-deserved rating. Bravo! "
More- To keep or to drink:
- Wait 3 to 5 years
- Apogée:
- 2025-2040
-
Vieux Château Certan is one (the last?) of the very few Bordeaux grands crus where the owners, Alexandre Thienpont and his son Guillaume since 2011, are still the only cellar masters on board. Thanks to its Cabernet Franc (30% on average), Vieux-Certan offers a firm, distinguished and refined version of Pomerol, closer to Lafleur than Petrus. Its 2022 vintage has been showered with praise, as in Vinous, where the two tasters (Galloni and Martin) each rated it 100/100.
The 2021 vintage in the press:
La Revue du Vin de France (Guide 2025): 97/100 “A great wine that benefits from the balance of yesteryear, with a slender frame wrapped in luscious, fleshy fruit. On the nose, it's a festival, with irresistible mineral and iodine intensity. The palate is lengthened by the almost-Medoc-like tannins (23% Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon) that punctuate the finish.”.
Vinous (A. Galloni - February 2024) : 98/100 “ Vieux Château Certan 2021 could well be the wine of the vintage in the Right Bank. Intensely aromatic and nuanced, with exceptional balance, the 2021 is immediately classy. Of course, it doesn't have the richness or density of most previous vintages, but it more than makes up for it with sublime harmony and great freshness.”
More- To keep or to drink:
- Wait 3 to 5 years
- Apogée:
- 2025-2040
-
Vieux Château Certan is one (the last?) of the very few Bordeaux grands crus where the owners, Alexandre Thienpont and his son Guillaume since 2011, are still the only cellar masters on board. Thanks to its Cabernet Franc (30% on average), Vieux-Certan offers a firm, distinguished and refined version of Pomerol, closer to Lafleur than Petrus. Its 2022 vintage has been showered with praise, as in Vinous, where the two tasters (Galloni and Martin) each rated it 100/100.
The 2015 vintage in the press:
En Magnum (2024): 98/100 “A magnificent encounter between power, opulence, freshness and intensity. A great vintage, combining great seduction, generosity and flavour”.
More- To keep or to drink:
- Ready to drink
- Apogée:
- 2025-2040