Wine Advisor
Vieux Chateau Certan 2000
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at Bordeaux Index’s 2000 tasting in London. This has a very pure, very sensuous nose with red-berried fruit, wild strawberry, raspberry, a touch of marmalade and quince in the background. Very good definition with a faint hint of iodine developing with time. The palate is full-bodied, very pure and well defined, yet so linear at this point. This is a wine that retains its foetal position but what a future in store! It is so smooth and harmonious towards the elegant, feminine finish. Drink 2028-2040. Tasted March 2010.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The dense ruby/purple-colored, tight 2000 gradually reveals notes of oak, tapenade, blackberries, spice box, licorice, and vanilla. Deep, medium to full-bodied, and powerful, with superb purity, low acidity, and high tannin, this backward, concentrated Vieux Chateau Certan falls just short of rivaling the sensational 1998. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2030.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
I tend to underestimate Vieux-Chateau-Certan. The strong performance of this 2000 offers persuasive evidence that I am consistently too strict in my evaluations of this elegant but authoritatively flavored Pomerol. The 2000 is a blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. It is an elegant wine.. Its saturated ruby/purple color is followed by an exceptional bouquet of blackberries, cassis, spice box, licorice, and minerals. Deep and full-bodied, with great intensity, tremendous purity, low acidity, and high tannin, this is a majestic Vieux-Chateau-Certan that will require patience. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2030.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A divine chocolate, minerally nose. Lovely balance with wonderful sophistication. Delicate and smooth velvety tannins. A sweet finish. Top-class 2000. Looking very impressive when tasted en primeur with a minerally nose and smooth velvety tannins. A top-class 2000. Then in May 2005, a wine that is just getting into its stride. A really stunning nose with fabulous definition. Minerally, blackberry leaf and a touch of brine. Very backward and primal. The palate has wonderful and balance and fine acidity. Streamlined, symmetrical, focused. Judicious amount of well-integrated new oak allows this to shine with a divine crisp finish. Brilliant.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A gorgeous wine of grace, elegance, and power, this youthful 2000 will benefit from another five years of cellaring. It appears to have 25 more years of life ahead of it. A deep ruby/purple color is just beginning to lighten at the edges. The bouquet offers up scents of cedar wood, melted licorice, black currants, blackberries, caramel, and mocha. Medium to full-bodied, elegant, and pure with low acidity as well as formidable tannins in the long finish, the 2000 should rival vintages such as 2005, 2006, and 2009.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The deep plum/purple-colored 2000 offers a complex nose of menthol, underbrush, black currants, cherries, mocha, and new wood. It hits the palate with beautiful purity as well as symmetry, medium to full body, and moderate tannin in the finish. If not one of the vintage's superstars, it is a classic, and undeniably top-flight. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2025.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the Bipin Desai’s VCC vertical in Los Angeles. A deep garnet/ruby core. The nose is closed upon first acquaintance, remaining stoic throughout. You can tell there is great fruit concentration here, but it is real sulky adolescent. The palate is full-bodied with firm, solid tannins, very fine balance, almost unyielding with the Cabernet Franc driving it along. But backwards and surly. Do not approach now and cellar for 10-15 years at least before approaching because the potential is immense. Drink 2020-2040. Tasted November 2008.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2000 Vieux-Château-Certan is a Pomerol that I had not encountered for some time. Perhaps this vintage has lost some of its initial luster, not least because the consensus from winemakers and consumers alike is that the appellation performed far better in 2001. This millennial VCC has a saturnine nose even after almost two decades, offering dusky black fruit, hints of chimney soot and tobacco, and later a whiff of licorice. It remains stubborn and sultry. The palate is quite muscular for a VCC, although fine acidity lends it tension. Where one might criticize Alexandre Thienpont’s wine for its lack of refinement and panache, for failing to realize the potential it showed during its first decade. As such, I would afford it another three or four years in bottle to see if it brightens up.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(70% merlot, 20% cabernet franc and 10% cabernet sauvignon) Moderately saturated ruby-red. More merlot-dominated aromas of raspberry, plum, espresso, mocha and game. Silky, lush and thick, with compelling flavors of boysenberry, bitter cherry and dark chocolate. Complex, smoky, lively wine, finishing with strong torrefaction notes and lovely subtle persistence. The merlot component here goes through its malolactic fermentation in barriques
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Ruby-red, a bit less dark than the 2001. Crystallized boysenberry, blackberry and cassis on the nose, lifted by a suggestion of framboise and exotic spices. Fat, sweet and minerally, with pungent, aromatic flavors of oak and cherry. Bright and perfumed in the mouth. Finishes with terrific persistence and spicy sweetness.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright ruby-red. Highly perfumed, floral aromas of cassis, licorice and minerals. Bright blackberry and violet flavors show excellent verve, thanks to lively acids. Juicy and still rather folded in on itself today. Solidly structured, ripely tannic and very long. Offers superb potential.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2000 Vieux Château Certan, which contains 20% Cabernet Franc, shows minor aging on the rim. The bouquet has opened up since I last tasted it, predominantly black fruit laced with licorice, less of the chimney soot aspect that I observed six years ago, though with a light Earl Grey scent. The palate is medium-bodied and, again, has clearly opened up in recent years. That said, there is still a sense of "old school" Pomerol, black truffle mixed with tobacco, perhaps higher acidity than expected. The finish has pleasant bitter cherry notes, though a little short on the aftertaste. Tasted at the VCC vertical in Etikhove, Belgium.
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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