Wine Advisor
Vieux Chateau Certan 1996
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This dark ruby-colored wine offers an intriguing nose of cedar wood, fruitcake, Asian spices, smoke, and cassis. In the mouth, some olive notes reveal the Cabernet Sauvignon component of this Pomerol. Medium-bodied, with excellent ripeness and considerable potential for complexity and elegance, this is a very good to excellent Vieux-Chateau-Certan that should provide fine drinking for two decades. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2016.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 1996 appears to be the finest wine made at this estate since the 1990. Not a huge wine, it is a mid-weight Bordeaux with a complex, smoky, olive, black-cherry, and cassis-scented nose. The wine offers an alluring texture, considerable silkiness to both its tannin and structure, and medium-bodied, nicely concentrated, nearly outstanding flavor intensity. This wine should be ready to drink early. Anticipated maturity: 2001-2016. (No tasting note was provided in Issue 110. We have instead included the text of the tasting note from Issue 110)
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 1996 appears to be the finest wine made at this estate since the 1990. Not a huge wine, it is a mid-weight Bordeaux with a complex, smoky, olive, black-cherry, and cassis-scented nose. The wine offers an alluring texture, considerable silkiness to both its tannin and structure, and medium-bodied, nicely concentrated, nearly outstanding flavor intensity. This wine should be ready to drink early. Anticipated maturity: 2001-2016.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at Roberson’s Pomerol tasting. The Vieux Chateau-Certan ‘96 has a seductive, rounded nose with plum, dark cherry, a touch of sous-bois and just a hint of brettanomyces that personally, I have not picked up on previous bottles. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, a little edgy on the beginning, not great weight and quite strict and tannic towards the finish. Touches of blackberry, dark tea, quite sharp and citric/dried orange peel finish. This remains a very good Pomerol for the vintage, but not a top-class VCC. Drink now-2025. Tasted November 2010.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the Bipin Desai’s VCC vertical in Los Angeles. This is a vintage that Alexandre Thienpont described as being “saved from ruin.” A much more masculine, sous-bois inflected nose compared to the more precocious ‘95, with dried blood and cigar box at the forefront of the bouquet. Good definition though. The palate is foursquare with firm tannins, unyielding at first but mellowing nicely in the glass. Good depth, “correct” with blackberry and a touch of graphite. Nice crescendo in the mouth with hints of dried orange peel towards the finish. A very good wine considering how inconsistent Pomerols can be in this vintage. Drink 2012-2028. Tasted November 2008.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted from bottle at Mark Walford’s annual lunch at Waterside Inn. Alexandre Thienpont produced a commendable VCC in a difficult vintage. It has an open-knit, inviting bouquet with dark plum, cherry and roasted chestnuts emerging with time. There is still just a tincture of brettanomyces here, although less evident compared to other bottles. The palate is medium-bodied with a fresh, clean line of acidity. The fruit profile is black rather than red with notes of Chinese tea and a touch of mint on the finish. Very fine, although I cannot see it improving from here. Tasted May 2013.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Tasted three times from bottle in January, the 1996 merited a slightly higher score on one occasion, but my policy is to go with the more conservative rating. The wine exhibits a dark plum color, and a complex nose of roasted herbs, Asian spices, earth, and sweet black cherry fruit. A refined claret, with excellent concentration, a sweet mid-palate, and moderate tannin in the finish, it is a finesse-styled Pomerol. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2016.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Although this was not a great vintage in Pomerol, Alexandre Thienpont crafted a commendable 1996 Vieux Château Certan. The bouquet is open-knit with black plum mixed with chestnut and Earl Grey. [N.B. some bottles have shown some brettanomyces.] The palate is medium-bodied and underpinned by a fine line of acidity, a decent amount of black fruit tinged with mint towards the rather abrupt finish. Not bad, although the 1995 is better. Taken from the Pomerol book authored by Neal Martin.
About the Producer
Among all the Pomerol appellations, Vieux Chateau Certan is one of the oldest, and even Petrus is a latecomer to it. It was called "Sertan" by the Portuguese, meaning desert, poor land and unsuitable for growing crops, but the soil was very suitable for growing grapes. Over time, the name "Sertan" evolved into the homonym "Certan", which is part of the winery's name to this day. The vineyard of Château de la Vieux Sedan covers approximately 14 hectares and is divided into 23 plots. The upper layer of the vineyard is about 30 cm of clayey gravel, while the iron-bearing clay is in the lower layer of the soil. The grape varieties planted are predominantly Merlot (about 70%), with Cabernet Franc (25%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (5%) making up the rest of the vineyard. The average age of the vines is about 50 years. The harvest is rigorous, with fermentation taking place in temperature-controlled oak barrels and aging in 2/3 new oak barrels, while some vintages, such as 1987, are 100% new oak and aged for 18-22 months. The wines of Old Sedan are made from Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, which is a stylistic departure from the absolute dominance of Merlot in Pomerol. Old Sedan is the most similar to the Medoc style in Pomerol, with a color that is usually less intense, but with firm tannins and a robust body. After a few years of ageing, it is sweet, mineral and perfectly smooth, with a strong persistence in the mouth. The old Sedan has a unique and flawless structure, the new wine has a rather prominent charred leathery taste and the tannins take at least 5 years to soften. The mature wine has concentrated flavors and a perfect balance, not as "powerful" as Château Petrus, but a perfect combination of strength and softness, a unique Pomerol wine.
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