2022 Vieux Château Certan Pomerol - 3x75cl
06C2VIEU3PK _ 2022 - Vieux Château Certan Pomerol - 3x75cl
  • Colour Red
  • Producer Vieux Château Certan
  • Region Pomerol
  • Case size 3x75cl
  • Available En Primeur

2022 - Vieux Château Certan Pomerol - 3x75cl

  • Colour Red
  • Producer Vieux Château Certan
  • Region Pomerol
  • Case size 3x75cl
  • Available En Primeur
Case price: £825.00 In Bond
Please note: These wines are lying abroad until shipping and can only be purchased In Bond. If you are an existing Private Reserves customer, the wine will be automatically transferred on arrival. Otherwise, you will be contacted on arrival in the UK to arrange delivery, In Bond storage in Private Reserves or another bonded warehouse.
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Pricing

  • IN BOND prices exclude UK Duty and VAT. Wines can be purchased In Bond for storage in Private Reserves or another bonded warehouse, or for export to non-EU countries. Duty and VAT must be paid before delivery can take place.

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Additional Information

  • Duty Paid wines have been removed from Bond and cannot subsequently be returned to Bond.  VAT is payable on Duty Paid wines. These wines must remain Duty Paid but can be purchased as such for storage subject to VAT.

  • En Primeur wines can only be purchased In Bond. On arrival in the UK these wines can either be stored In Bond in Private Reserves or another bonded warehouse or delivered directly to you. When you decide to take delivery, Duty and VAT at the prevailing rate become payable.

  • Goedhuis, April 2023, Score: 99-100

    It is difficult not to be biased when arriving at the beautiful wisteria covered Château of VCC on a warm spring day, but their 2022 deserves nothing less than a perfect score. The most striking characteristic is the freshness, which Alexandre Thienpont attributes to the greater number of bunches per vine he and his son Guillaume encouraged to compensate against drought, giving a fluidity and ease to their wines. Arguably the silkiest and most charming wine of the vintage, redolent with violets and cherry blossom. It is alluring and supple, the tannins are almost hidden, so perfectly are they integrated with the fruit. The palate is continuously refreshed by light, fresh acidity, finishing with hints of cinnamon and blueberry.

  • Neal Martin, April 2023, Score: 97-99

    The 2022 Vieux Château Certan was picked between 6 and 21 September at 35hL/ha and matured in two-thirds new oak. Alexandre Thienpont thinks it is a combination of the 2019 and 2020 and said that the Cabernet Sauvignon, from younger vines, lowered the alcohol (14.4%) and lent perfume. The aromatics are spellbinding with brilliant delineation and a surfeit of freshness. Blackberry, briary, crushed stone and light iris flower scents, vivacious and so energetic. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, very supple tannins, and lashings of cracked black pepper, pencil box and tobacco infusing the black fruit. As Thienpont said, persistent on the finish and gently lacquering the vines. The Cabernet is very expressive this year and so while it is a real Left Bank/Right Bank hybrid, it is, at the same time, quintessentially Pomerol. Chapeau Alexandre et Guillaume Thienpont. Drink 2032-2075

  • Antonio Galloni, April 2023, Score: 98-100

    The 2022 Vieux Château Certan is a wine of tremendous sophistication and polish. I expected to see a more opulent VCC, but the 2022 is surprisingly delicate and nuanced. The blend is 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, which means all the Cabernets at the château were used in Grand Vin. Perhaps that explains the wine’s construction, favoring length, persistence and aromatics more than size. Crème de cassis, lavender, spice and licorice hints linger on the super-expressive finish. There’s really not much more to say except that the 2022 is magical. “Real heat started in June," explained Alexandre Thienpont. “We had 15mm of rain over two days in mid-August that really helped. Even so, yields were 35 hectoliters per hectare, so lower than 2020. Berries weighed less athan a gram and juice yields were low.” Drink 2032-2062.

  • Wine Advocate, April 2023, Score: 97-99

    A blend of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon (very similar to the 2019), the 2022 Vieux Château Certan is a magical wine of exemplary harmony and balance. Offering up complex aromas of dark berries and cherries mingled with notions of exotic spices, licorice, iris, violets and loamy soil, it's full-bodied, supple and seamless, its sweet structuring tannins entirely concealed by a multidimensional core of pure, vibrant fruit. This sensual, perfumed Pomerol is likely to rank alongside the 2019 and 2016 in the pantheon of recent Vieux Château Certan vintages.

  • James Suckling, April 2023, Score: 98-99

    The freshness and dynamic sense to the wine is so surprising. Minerally and salty. It's full yet racy. Black ink and oyster shell. Excellent length. 25% cabernet franc, 5% cabernet sauvignon and the rest, merlot.

  • Matthew Jukes, April 2023, Score: 19.5+

    Can you imagine a harvest where the average berry weight was only 1 gramme? This happened at VCC, and these tiny grapes, packed with heroic juice and densely populated skins, gave up their magical components to make this wine. They managed the drought and the heat well here, and while the drought was progressive, it was ultimately not a problem, and the theory is the 2021 season helped the vines in 2022, giving the toolkit to survive. There is a glorious nose here atop a fresh, ripe, concentrated palate. The Thienponts decided not to perform a drastic green harvest otherwise, the remaining berries would have been too concentrated, and this was a pivotal decision because the resulting fruit is perfectly balanced and measured. Having a little more crop on the vine gives you ‘freshness insurance’., something sorely needed in 2022. A massive vanguard of black fruit swamps the palate and then sets up camp on your taste buds. It does not fade nor does it grow – it just radiates class, composure and infinite detail. The Cabernet Sauvignon brings florals, and the Franc adds a brittle, refreshing finish while giving the Merlot a 3D lattice to populate, creating a beautiful shape on the palate. Dark, rich, indulgent and velvety, no press wine was added here because it was simply unnecessary. The tension on the finish offsets the decadence on the mid-palate, leaving your taste buds craving more.

  • Jancis Robinson, April 2023, Score: 18

    Powerful but elegant at the same time. Floral notes with a hint of violet. Enticing, juicy extract and tannins that are present but plush and smooth. Long and well balanced with grip on the finish. (James Lawther MW) 14.4% Drink 2032 – 2050

  • Jeb Dunnuck, April 2023, Score: 98-100

    One of the wines of the vintage, without a doubt, the 2022 Vieux Château Certan comes from healthy yields of 38 hectoliters per hectare and is 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Jaw-droppingly good in every sense, its deep purple hue is followed by a massive array of black cherries, violets, red plums, chocolate, and violets. This carries to a full-bodied Pomerol with a voluptuously layered mouthfeel, perfect tannins, and a great, great finish. I never find Vieux Château Certan to have the overt power and structure of Petrus, or the feminine elegance of Conseillante, but it's unrivaled in its texture, seamlessness, and purity. If this doesn't put a smile on your face, I don't know what will. And I'll be a buyer.

  • Jane Anson, April 2023, Score: 96

    Firm tannic frame, with ink, graphite, violet flowers and red roses, even hints of black truffles at this young age, a sign of the exuberance of the vintage and one that will no doubt increase with age. A little less Cabernet Franc in the blend than usual because they have one plot uprooted right now. The aromatics are explosing, but things are more serious on the palate, with grip and austerity, and it will need a good eight to ten years in bottle to soften. Beautiful nutmeg and clove spice, with a mouthwatering finish. 35hl/h yield. 65% new oak. Oldest vines date back to 1958. 75% new oak.

Producer

Vieux Château Certan

What is there not to like about this château and its amiable owner, Alexandre Thienpont? Sensitive,reflective and wonderfully humble, he is of the school who believes that wine makes itself. He is just the assistant who helps it along the way. And the wine certainly seems to be spectacular year after year.

Region

Pomerol

The small sub-region of Pomerol is situated north-east of the industrious city of Libourne. Pomerol's soils are predominately iron-rich clay with a smattering of gravel that produce wines with extraordinary power and depth. As a result of this clay-dominance, it has the highest percentage of Merlot planted in all of Bordeaux. Certain châteaux are produced exclusively from this grape, but most incorporate smaller quantities of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc as well. Despite its hefty (if not exclusive) proportion of Merlot, many people think of wines from this region as separate entities. As one wine aficionado stated recently, "It's not Merlot. It's Pomerol." Despite the region's small size, Pomerol contains some of the world's most sought after (and expensive) wines including Pétrus, Le Pin, Lafleur, l'Evangile and Vieux Château Certan. Unlike other Bordelais subregions, there is no system of classification. The châteaux are traded on reputation alone.

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