Wine Tasting Notes, Ratings

2010 Vieux Château Certan

1. An expressive nose violets, truffle, boysenberry, chocolate and liqueur notes. Powerful, dense and perfectly balanced, the wine is intense, silky, velvety, pure, fresh, ripe and intense. The finish is long, seamless and coats your palate with flavor, texture and rich sensations that linger. The wine changes with each sip, giving you something new to think about with each sip, sniff and taste. This note was written about the wine based on tasting it with only a pop and pour. With time and air, this is going to a legendary vintage for Alexandre Thienpont and Vieux Chateau Certan that future generations of collectors will covet. If you have the funds, this is the wine to buy.

   100 points - Tasted May 8, 2013

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2. This dark, almost opaque colored wine is packed and stacked with multiple layers of black plum, truffle, earth, floral, black cherry, black raspberry, boysenberry and chocolate with an intensity of flavor that continues expanding and developing in the mouth. This is extremely powerful, opulent and concentrated with layers of perfectly ripe, velvet textured fruits. Yet everything is in perfect balance and harmony from start to finish. 2010 Vieux Chateau Certan is expensive. Most of the top Pomerol wines are. But when you consider this wine is at the same level as, or better than Petrus, Le Pin and Lafleur, it's worth buying. You can take this to the bank, this is a future legendary Pomerol.

   100 points - Tasted May 11, 2012

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3. The color of purple ink, truffles, black plums, chocolate fudge, fresh picked flowers, licorice and black raspberries filled your nose. Full bodied, mouth filling, expansive, deep and long. Finesse, power, silk, velvet and pure fruit. It’s important to look at the makeup of this wine which is 86%Merlot and equal parts 8% Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. This is even more dominated by Merlot than the 2009, which came in at 84% Merlot. While the wine reached 14.5% alcohol, there is no sensation of heat in this stunning Bordeaux wine. 98-100 Pts

   99 points - Tasted Jul 30, 2011

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4. Vieux Chateau Certan The chateau produces wine in vintages that favor Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, or Merlot. 2010 as well as 2009 are vintages where the Merlot clearly excelled and became the preponderance of the blend. The assemblage in this vintage is 86%Merlot, 8% Cab Franc 6% Cab Sauvignon. This is even more dominated by Merlot than the 2009, which came in at 84% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Cabernet Franc. Shaped by low yields and high alcohol, the wine clocked in at 14.5% alcohol. The IPT levels are equally high at 90. As a point of reference, this level of IPT recorded in 2010 is the same as the chateau recorded in their press wine a decade ago. . 2010 Vieux Chateau Certan resembles dark, purple ink. Exotic liqueur aromas, plums, truffle, flowers, chocolate and spice aromas are found with little effort. The mouth filling wine paints your palate with sexy, ripe, liquid silk sensations. Spice, rich black licorice, pure plum and blackberry flavors coat your taste receptors. The long, seamless, intense, pure finish was too good to spit. When Alexandre was not looking, I put the wine where it belonged, twice! Sadly, this will not be cheap. However, if you’re seeking a historic Pomerol legend in the making, this is the wine to buy. 99-100 Pts

   99 points - Tasted Apr 21, 2011

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