Vieux Chateau Certan 2010

robert_parker96

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. The Vieux Chateau Certan 2010 has a tightly wound bouquet with truffle tinged black fruit, hints of warm gravel and spice. The palate is medium-bodied with taut tannins, superb acidity and a convincing sense of energy and tension from start to finish. It needs a little more depth on the mid-palate, but is very fresh with good structure. This is a great wine from Alexandre Thienpont. Tasted January 2014.

robert_parker98

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Alexandre Thienpont thinks 2010 is even more powerful and tannic than 2009. This is certainly a big wine, dominated by its Merlot component (86%, with the rest mostly Cabernet Franc). The natural alcohol level is 14.5%, slightly above 2009, but the pH is a healthy 3.7, and the wine, like so many 2010s, is a paradox. The alcohols are often the highest ever yet the acidities are fresh and lively, and the wine crisp and refined. This is a deep purple-colored wine, with loads of opulence and fat, a voluptuous texture and tremendous purity. The style is a modern-day version of what they probably achieved in 1947, 1949 and 1950. Thienpont attributes the wine’s freshness to the lack of any real heat wave, the drought, and the very cool nights in September. This wine should drink well for 20-40 years.

robert_parker98

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

A blend of 86% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon cropped between 27th September and 5th October, the Vieux Chateau Certan delivers 14.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.7. It is presently being raised in 75% new oak. The nose is very refined with touches of blackberry, raspberry, black truffle and dark cherries with wonderful delineation considering the alcohol level. The palate is very well balanced with beautiful poise, perhaps more focused than the 2009 at this stage. Wonderful mineralite, there is superb precision and energy is this nascent VCC. Just superb. Tasted April 2011.

robert_parker96

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2010 was, as Alexandre mentioned, a “merlot” year and there is 25% less Cabernet Franc in the blend. If I am being truly honest (and that has got me into a lot of trouble this year) I am missing that component on the nose. For sure, it has wonderful purity and focus, subtle raspberry and cranberry notes that are incredibly well defined, but I just miss that edginess that the Cabernet Franc imparts. Still, I cannot deny there is superb minerality here. The palate is quite broody on the entry: good density, a little softer than I expected, but with lovely spicy notes intertwined in the black, slightly tarry fruit. It is a little “gawky” after bottling so it will gain more harmony and composure. The finish is masculine, typical of the vintage, with a long tertiary aftertaste. Very fine...of course. Tasted November 2012.

robert_parker99

Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.

The 2010 Vieux Chateau Certan, a blend of 86% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, tips the scales at 14.5% alcohol. Production was lower than in 2009 and the alcohol slightly higher, but the pH is 3.7, which is surprisingly reasonable given the lofty power and alcoholic clout this full-bodied wine possesses. Dense purple-colored , the 2010 displays a vivid yet astonishing array of spice box, red, blue and black fruits, crushed rock and spring flowers. The oak is well-concealed behind the lavish concentration and richness. Exceptionally pure, this unbelievable wine flirts with perfection. Unfortunately, there is 20% less of it than in 2009, and the tannins warrant a good 8-10 years of cellaring, as I suspect it could actually close down. This is another 40- to 50-year effort in 2010 that should elicit considerable interest from wine consumers. Thienpont thinks he has produced three wines - 2008, 2009 and 2010 - that are the greatest trilogy in the history of Vieux Chateau Certan, rivaling what this estate did in 1947, 1948 and 1949.

robert_parker100

Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown

The 2010 Vieux Château Certan is deep garnet in color, and—POW—the nose opens as a complete spice-bomb, featuring notes of fenugreek, cumin seed and cinnamon stick over a core of Black Forest cake, plum preserves and blueberry pie with hints of fragrant earth and crushed stones. Full-bodied, rich and seductive in the mouth, it is laden with layers of black and blue fruit preserves, framed by super plush tannins, finishing epically long and perfumed.

vinous97

Reviewed by: Ian d'Agata

(86% merlot, 8% cabernet franc and 6% cabernet sauvignon; 3.7 pH; 90 IPT; 75% new oak; 14.5 % alcohol) Deep purple-ruby. Knockout nose displays amazingly penetrating aromas of black cherry, cassis, violet, pungent herbs and minerals; for me, this is the nose of the vintage! Then rich, fresh and mouthfilling, with lively acidity framing and lifting the wine's dark fruit, floral and mineral flavors. The very long, palate-saturating finish features building tannins that turn just slightly astringent at the back. Had the tannins been just a bit finer, this might have been the wine of the vintage. Alexandre Thienpont feels that this wine is similar to the 1950, while the 2009 is more like the 1948, and he notes there was 20% less production in 2010 than in 2009.

vinous97

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2010 Vieux Château Certan has a more modern bouquet compared to its peers. There is plenty of high quality new oak that slightly masks the fruit, although it does not overwhelm and should be completely subsumed with bottle age. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and a fine bead of acidity. This is very well balanced, though I would have liked a little more substance and grip on the finish. Very fine and classy, but maybe it could have been better? Tasted blind at Farr Vintners 10-Year On Bordeaux horizontal.

vinous96

Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer

Good deep ruby. Spicy aromas of blueberry, licorice, minerals, flowers and bitter chocolate. Sweet, suave and deep, with lovely lift to the complex cabernet franc-driven violet, cocoa and white pepper flavors. Firmly structured and long on the refined, youthfully chewy, tannic finish. This 2010 will really need at least a few years to expand, but will probably always remain a more austere wine than the 2009. I think will also prove to be a very ageworthy VCC.

vinous97

Reviewed by: Neal Martin

The 2010 Vieux Château Certan has been compared to the 1950 by Alexandre Thienpont, who mentioned that berries were usually small, with yields at 35hl/ha. It's slightly deeper in color than the 2009. This has an outstanding, concentrated bouquet with black fruit, melted tar, cedar and a touch of morels (as noted previously). There is better delineation compared to the previous vintage. The palate is medium-bodied with an almost Côte de Nuits-like texture and perfect acidity, and the tannins are present but fine. Incense and licorice join the fray with time. It's harmonious on the finish with ample freshness. This magnificent VCC is only in its first couple of chapters. Tasted at the VCC vertical in Etikhove, Belgium.