Vieux Chateau Certan

Some thought that Vieux Chateau Certan originated in the 16^th century, but it was only in 1785 there was a chateau named Sertan starting to appear on the map. The owners of this chateau was the Demay family, who was active in the region as a negociant and landlord.

A number of plots were sold and out of those Petit-Certan (later known as Certan de May) and Vieux Chateau Certan were created. In 1858 the estate was sold to Charles de Bousquet, a banker, who built the chateau.

In 1924 it was acquired by Georges Thienpont, who also purchased Chateau Troplong-Mondot in St-Emilion. But during the depression and war the financial hardship forced Georges to sell one of the properties, and he decided to let go of Troplong-Mondot, keeping Vieux Chateau Certan.

With Geroges and his son Leon’s dedication on the property, the quality of Vieux Chateau Certan increased throughout the years. In 1985 the estate was passed to Leon’s son Alexandre.

The vineyard lays very close to the church in Pomerol, with many famous neighbors including Petrus, La Conseillante, Certan de May. The soils are clay spiced with large pebbles, over deeper ferruginous subsoils. There are 14 ha of vines planted in a single block, with 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Pruned in the usual Bordelais fashion of double Guyot, with crop thinning to control yields and improve ventilation, the vineyard is manually harvested, and there is rigorous selection of grapes in the vineyard. In the chai there is a gentle crushing before the must is put in temperature-controlled oak vats, with separate vinification for each variety.

Maceration is carried out for up to three weeks to extract color and tannin, and the wine is then put in French oak barrels (50% new) to rest up to 22 months. The tasting from barrel then determines the final blend, before the fining and bottling without filtration. The grand vin is Vieux Chateau Certan with less than 5000 cases produced, with a second wine of Gravette de Certan.

I have recently tasted the 2002 grand vin and the 2009 second wine. Below are my tasting notes:

Good quality Pomerol of medium ruby color, the wine has a reasonably intense nose of fair complexity, showing aromas of blackberry, black cherry and cassis, plum, liquorice, cedar, mocha. It is much more youthful than would be expected. The palate is of medium acidity, with a ripe and velvety tannin. Medium in body, it also reasonably intense flavors and fair complexity, with black cherry and blackberry, liquorice, cedar, plum, chocolate. The most memorable for this wine is its long finish. Overall of good structure and finesse, it does however lack the concentration. Ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 3-5 years.

Very good quality Pomerol of deep ruby color, the wine has an intense nose showing a very ripe fruity characters of blackberry, blueberry, dark plum and cassis, cedar and vanilla, liquorice, chocolate, meaty. The wine is youthful, and has medium acidity, with a robust and ripe tannin though still a bit dusty and requiring more time to mellow. Fairly high on alcohol for a Pomerol, reflecting the characters of the vintage and the ripeness of the grapes, this fairly full-bodied wine has fairly concentrated flavors of blackberry, dark plum and blueberry, cedar, chocolate, earth. With a good finish though nothing compared with the grand vin, this wine has demonstrated good potential and would be good to see how time can further add another dimensions. It is ready to drink now but can benefit from further ageing of another 5-8 years.