Vieux Chateau Certan 2004 (3.0L)

94 WA / 94 WS / 93+ RP / 93 VM

Tasted at the Bipin Desai’s VCC vertical in Los Angeles. This is a triumph of wine over vintage: Alexandre Thienpont having to pass through the vineyard six times in order to pick the grapes. It was worthwhile because this is one of the outstanding wines of the vintage, driven by the Cabernet Franc (30%). A delectable nose with wonderful purity and exuberant, peppery Cabernet Franc with touches of tar and roasted chestnuts inflected the black fruits. The palate is medium-bodied, very good weight, almost sinewy in fact, with vibrant acidity and a slight hardness on the finish that should melt away with time. It has a relatively dry finish, which leaves the palate eager for the next sip and improving all the time in my glass so that the final dregs are the finest. Superb. Drink 2015-2030+. Tasted November 2008. - Neal Martin, Wine Advocate

This stunning blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc boasts a dense ruby/purple color along with a big, sweet bouquet of black cherries, licorice, roasted herbs, smoke, and cassis. Elegant, medium to full-bodied, pure flavors reveal moderately high tannin, but superb concentration and richness. Vieux Chateau Certan should be one of the longer-lived and most complex wines of the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2025. - Robert Parker

(70% merlot and 30% cabernet franc) Good red-ruby. Highly complex, cabernet franc-dominated aromas of berries, dark chocolate, leather, tobacco and spices. Dense and fat but with a firm edge of acidity leavening the wine's layered texture. A lush and creamy wine with terrific spine. Classic VCC, finishing with outstanding spicy persistence. It's hard to find this style of right-bank Bordeaux today. I've had a letch for this wine since the outset. - Stephen Tanzer, Vinous Media

Fabulous aromas of crushed berries, vanilla and chocolate, with pure fruit. Full-bodied, with silky tannins and a long, caressing finish. All in texture. A gorgeous and seductive young wine. This is 25 percent Cabernet Franc (normally it's 15 percent). Best after 2009. 4,585 cases made. - JS, Wine Spectator