Vieux Chateau Certan - Pomerol (Futures) 2023
Price: $245.00
| Producer | Vieux Chateau Certan |
| Country | France |
| Region | Bordeaux |
| Subregion | Pomerol |
| Varietal | Bordeaux Blend |
| Vintage | 2023 |
| Sku | 602629 |
| Size | 750ml |
This item is a Bordeaux future and anticipated arrival is Fall 2026
97-99 Points The Wine Independent: A blend of 82% Merlot and 18% Cabernet Franc, Vieux Chateau Certan 2023 has a pH of 3.74 and it is deep garnet-purple in color. Notes of fresh blackberries, juicy plums, and black cherries slowly emerge from the glass, opening out to fragrant notes of violets, star anise, and black truffles, followed by wafts of wood smoke and cardamom. The medium-bodied palate is taut and muscular with firm, rounded tannins and seamless acidity, finishing with many, many layers of earth, spice, and floral notes. This is pure latent power. (LPB)
98 Points Decanter: 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. (GH)
James Suckling: 97-98 Points
A very fine and polished young VCC with subtle density and a racy backbone of tannins. Compact with well-toned muscles and a persistent finish. Very silky. Really grows at the end. 82% merlot and 18% cabernet franc.
Jeb Dunnuck: 96-98 Points
Not harvested until after the rains in the middle of September, the 2023 Vieux Château Certan is based on 82% Merlot and 18% Cabernet Franc that was brought up in roughly 60% new oak. It's another ripe, medium to full-bodied, aristocratic, beautifully textured Pomerol that has ample black cherry, mulberry, chocolate, and tobacco-like aromatics, medium to full-bodied richness, flawless overall balance, and ripe tannins, as well as a certain salinity on the finish. Checking in at 14% alcohol and a pH of 3.74, it should surpass the 2014 and is a beautiful, elegant, classic wine that every reader would love to have in their cellar
Antonio Galloni: 96-98 Points
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.
Wine Advocate: 94-96 Points
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. (WK)
