Vieux Chateau Certan 2017 (750ML)

98 WI / 98 VM / 98 WS / 98 JS / 98 JD / 97 WCI / 96 WE / 18 JR

#27 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of France 2020
#40 Jeb Dunnuck’s Top 100 Wines of 2020
#89 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of 2020

"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! -Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent

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. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

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. - James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

The purity and complexity is so mesmerizing for 2017. Raspberries and black fruit with sweet-tobacco and blood-orange undertones. Medium to full body. The tannins are so polished and pure and push out the edges on the wine. Fresh and pretty. Deep. Needs two or three years to perfect it. Try after 2023. - James Suckling

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! - Jeb Dunnuck

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. - Wine Cellar Insider

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. - Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast

Tasted blind. Deep ruby colour. Dried cherry and leathery spice on the nose here. Kirsch. Full bodied but keeping some restraint. Powerful – smoky, rich – and yet highly refined. Underneath this sweetness are cooler hedgerow, graphite and cedar tones. Mouth-coating, chewy tannins provide a deep and dense structure. This is earthy but has really good drive. Long and expansive. (TP) - Jancis Robinson