Wine Advisor
Certan de May 2016
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2016 Certan de May is a blend of 65% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Franc and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a perfumed bouquet with bright red fruit laced with wilted rose petals, the oak nicely integrated, although it just lacks a little complexity compared to other recent vintages. The palate is medium-bodied and felt rather "skinny" on the entry with some hardness to the tannin. Linear and austere, this is a perplexing showing of a Pomerol that I have a lot of time for, continuing a patchy run of form.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2016 Certan de May is a powerful, dense wine, just as it was en primeur. A blast of grilled herbs, leather, smoke, tobacco, licorice and dark-fleshed fruits makes a strong opening statement. Potent and strap in feel, Certan de May shows the more virile side of Pomerol. The profile is decidedly sepia-toned. Readers should plan on being patient with the 2016. It is a jewel of a wine that just needs bottle age to be at its best.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2016 Certan de May was disappointingly skinny when I tasted it from barrel. It has put on weight during its élevage, as one expects, but trust me, this is not up there with the greatest wines from Certan de May. The bouquet is pleasant but does not go that extra mile, coming across a little green around the edges and missing some vigor. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, quite supple tannins and well-judged acidity. I appreciate the freshness here, but this does not deliver the complexity or terroir expression of the best vintages, or even some of its great successes in the 2000s. I know this Pomerol can do better.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
A blend of 65% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Franc and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, the medium garnet-purple colored 2016 Certan de May offers up notes of wild blueberries, black cherries and raspberry leaves with hints of black tea, roses and tar. Medium-bodied, the palate delivers a wonderful quiet intensity of blue, red and black fruits plus a fine-grained backbone and superb freshness, delivery and very long, mineral-tinged finish.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2016 Certan de May is a powerful, dense wine, just as it was en primeur. A blast of grilled herbs, leather, smoke, tobacco, licorice and dark-fleshed fruits makes a strong opening statement. Potent and strap in feel, Certan de May shows the more virile side of Pomerol. The profile is decidedly sepia-toned. Readers should plan on being patient with the 2016. It is a jewel of a wine that just needs bottle age to be at its best.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
This is really powerful with big tannins and strong acidity. Full and intense. A wine for long-term aging yet one that offers accessibility at the same time. This estate is on a roll now.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
A deeply intense and plush Pomerol with immaculately ripe fruit and tannins. So well executed with aromas of truffle, dark stones, coal smoke and intense dark plums and cocoa powder. The palate has an immaculate texture with very bright, velvety tannins, carrying rich dark plums. Plum pudding and Christmas cake to close. Try from 2025.
About the Producer
Château Certan de May (or to use its full name, Château Certan de May de Certan) is a critically well-regarded wine estate in Pomerol on the Right Bank of Bordeaux, known for its highly sought-after Merlot-based red wine. The De May (or Demay) family were said to be of Scottish origin, but had lived in France since the Middle Ages, and in Pomerol since the late 1500s. The family became masters of the fief of Sertan, the oldest vineyard in the district. This area also covered the modern vineyards of Vieux Château Certan (which lies just over the road from the winery building) and Château Certan-Giraud (since renamed Château Hosanna), but was divided up after the French Revolution. Since the death of the last de May in 1925, the estate has been owned by the Barreau-Badar family and is currently managed by Jean-Luc Barreau. The vineyard covers five hectares (12 acres), with 70 percent planted to Merlot, 25 percent Cabernet Franc and 5 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is aged for 12 to 14 months in French oak barrels, with 60-80 percent new oak. Around 2000 cases are produced each year.
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