Wine Advisor
Vieux Chateau Certan 2004
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Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2004 Vieux Château Certan is an important one in my opinion, since it is the first whereby Alexandre Thienpont surpasses the limitations of the growing season, producing one of the best Right Bank wines you will find. Now beginning to show signs of ageing on the rim, it has an intense, more Merlot driven bouquet with wild strawberry, black truffle, hints of burnt toast and truffle. The tannins appear to be softening on the palate that is not as concentrated as the 2005 or 2009 of course, but there is admirable body and density here with some sinew towards the finish that will mellow with time. The aftertaste offers hints of sage and rosemary, completely a very satisfying 2004 Pomerol that should give a couple of decade’s drinking pleasure. Tasted at the Wine Source VCC dinner at The Square.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(70% merlot and 30% cabernet franc) Good red-ruby. Highly complex, cabernet franc-dominated aromas of berries, dark chocolate, leather, tobacco and spices. Dense and fat but with a firm edge of acidity leavening the wine's layered texture. A lush and creamy wine with terrific spine. Classic VCC, finishing with outstanding spicy persistence. It's hard to find this style of right-bank Bordeaux today. I've had a letch for this wine since the outset.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(tasted from tank) Deep ruby-red. Perfumed, highly spicy aromas of blueberry, violet and cedar; an essence of cabernet franc. At once generous and sappy, with compelling inner-mouth floral complexity. Finishes with substantial but fine palate-dusting tannins and superb subtle persistence. If the 2005 is very Pomerol, then this is very Vieux Chateau Certan. Yes, it's only 30% cabernet franc, notes Thienpont, but the franc was better than the merlot. I'd lay this one down for a good seven or eight years. A major success of the vintage, at a modest 12.7% alcohol.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(70% merlot and 30% cabernet franc) Good deep ruby-red. Black fruits, violet and bitter chocolate. Dense, sweet, plush and full, but with a firm spine framing and lifting the dark fruit, dark chocolate and mineral flavors. Conveys a sense of power without any hardness. Finishes with silky tannins and obvious structure. Nothing missing here. An utterly complete, dense VCC with more flavor depth than should be possible from a wine with 12.7% alcohol.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
I thought this was exceptional, a completely natural wine. Stunning definition on the nose: pure blackberry leaf with a touch of cedar. The palate has wonderful poise, blackcurrant, and a touch of redcurrant. Superb acidity and elegance. Minerally finish. Not an explosive wine, but one that you will not help falling in love with on the dinner table. The poise is just perfect. Superb. Tasted April 2005.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Made from an unusual blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc, this is a powerful yet classic effort for the vintage. Its dark plum/ruby color is accompanied by sweet scents of melted licorice, Provencal herbs, black currants, cherries, incense, and subtle new oak. Medium-bodied with good underlying acidity, a noble character, and an elegant, long, moderately tannic, complex finish, it should be at its finest between 2010-2020.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Proprietor Alexandre Thienpont believes the 2004 Vieux Chateau Certan resembles the 1988. A blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc, it is a classically-styled, dark plum/purple-hued effort exhibiting sweet scents of black cherries, plums, truffles, licorice, and herbs. With good acidity, a broad, medium-bodied attack, and excellent ripeness as well as purity, this complex, racy claret should be consumed between 2007-2018.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the Bipin Desai’s VCC vertical in Los Angeles. This is a triumph of wine over vintage: Alexandre Thienpont having to pass through the vineyard six times in order to pick the grapes. It was worthwhile because this is one of the outstanding wines of the vintage, driven by the Cabernet Franc (30%). A delectable nose with wonderful purity and exuberant, peppery Cabernet Franc with touches of tar and roasted chestnuts inflected the black fruits. The palate is medium-bodied, very good weight, almost sinewy in fact, with vibrant acidity and a slight hardness on the finish that should melt away with time. It has a relatively dry finish, which leaves the palate eager for the next sip and improving all the time in my glass so that the final dregs are the finest. Superb. Drink 2015-2030+. Tasted November 2008.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This stunning blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc boasts a dense ruby/purple color along with a big, sweet bouquet of black cherries, licorice, roasted herbs, smoke, and cassis. Elegant, medium to full-bodied, pure flavors reveal moderately high tannin, but superb concentration and richness. Vieux Chateau Certan should be one of the longer-lived and most complex wines of the vintage. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2025.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2004 Vieux Château Certan is an important one in my opinion, since it is the first whereby Alexandre Thienpont surpasses the limitations of the growing season, producing one of the best Right Bank wines you will find. Now beginning to show signs of ageing on the rim, it has an intense, more Merlot driven bouquet with wild strawberry, black truffle, hints of burnt toast and truffle. The tannins appear to be softening on the palate that is not as concentrated as the 2005 or 2009 of course, but there is admirable body and density here with some sinew towards the finish that will mellow with time. The aftertaste offers hints of sage and rosemary, completely a very satisfying 2004 Pomerol that should give a couple of decade’s drinking pleasure. Tasted at the Wine Source VCC dinner at The Square.
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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