Vieux Chateau Certan 2022

WEINWISSER: "75 % Merlot, 20 % Cabernet Franc, 5 % Cabernet Sauvignon, pH 3.78, 14.4 Vol.-%, 35 hl/ha. Betörendes Bouquet, Veilchenparfüm, edle Cassiswürze, Grether Pastillen, Graphitnoten. Am sublimen Gaumen mit seidiger Textur, balancierter Rasse, tiefgründig und elegant zugleich, engmaschiges Tanningerüst. Im konzentrierten, perfekt balancierten, nicht enden wollenden Finale schwarzbeerige Konturen, Wildkirsche, dunkle Schokolade und erhabene Adstringenz. Alexandré meint kurz und knapp: "A great Wine"! Für Sohn Guillaume ist der Jahrgang ein Paradox, weil man sich viele Dinge nicht erklären kann, die aufgrund des trockenen Verlaufs hätten passieren müssen. Wird dank des hohen Lagerpotenzials noch zulegen! 2030 – 2055."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Intensive Nuancen von reifen Brombeeren, Zwetschken und schwarzen Kirschen, zartes Nugat, ein Hauch von Edelholz und Orangenzesten, floral unterlegt. Stoffig, elegant, schwarze Waldbeeren, stoffig, reife, seidige Tannine, schokoladig und lange anhaftend, gute Frische, tolle Balance, enorme Länge, würziger Nachhall, sicheres Reifepotenzial."

JEB DUNNUCK: "One of the wines of the vintage, without a doubt, the 2022 Vieux Château Certan comes from healthy yields of 38 hectoliters per hectare and is 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Jaw-droppingly good in every sense, its deep purple hue is followed by a massive array of black cherries, violets, red plums, chocolate, and violets. This carries to a full-bodied Pomerol with a voluptuously layered mouthfeel, perfect tannins, and a great, great finish. I never find Vieux Château Certan to have the overt power and structure of Petrus, or the feminine elegance of Conseillante, but it's unrivaled in its texture, seamlessness, and purity. If this doesn't put a smile on your face, I don't know what will. And I'll be a buyer."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: „A blend of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon with a yield of 35 hl/ha, the 2022 Vieux Chateau Certan is deep garnet-purple in color. After a swirl or two, notes of black cherry preserves, black raspberries, and juicy black plums rocket out of the glass, followed by suggestions of star anise, lilacs, rose oil, and truffles with a waft of fertile loam. The full-bodied palate slowly grows in the mouth with layers of emerging mineral, floral, and exotic spice nuances intertwined with concentrated black fruits, supported by super-plush tannins and perfectly knit freshness, culminating in a very long-lasting firework display of floral and spice notes. pH 3.78."

JAMES SUCKLING: "The freshness and dynamic sense to the wine is so surprising. Minerally and salty. It's full yet racy. Black ink and oyster shell. Excellent length. 25% cabernet franc, 5% cabernet sauvignon and the rest, merlot."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "A blend of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon (very similar to the 2019), the 2022 Vieux Château Certan is a magical wine of exemplary harmony and balance. Offering up complex aromas of dark berries and cherries mingled with notions of exotic spices, licorice, iris, violets and loamy soil, it's full-bodied, supple and seamless, its sweet structuring tannins entirely concealed by a multidimensional core of pure, vibrant fruit. This sensual, perfumed Pomerol is likely to rank alongside the 2019 and 2016 in the pantheon of recent Vieux Château Certan vintages."

DECANTER: "Great expressiveness on the nose; perfumed blackcurrants, black cherries, strawberries, notes of dark chocolate, graphite and liquorice - smells serious. Supple and taught on the palate but with a really juicy core that gives life and energy. Tannins are excellent, giving weight and texture - a combination of chewy and fleshy but with a crushed stone and spiced edge. Lively, bright, intense, concentrated and suave. It’s rich, broad, muscular, complex and nuanced but at the same time stylish with lots of life, balance and freshness. This leaves the most gorgeous lingering expression and a sense that it’s going to be both extremely accessible in its youth and have great ageing potential."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Dark in color, and equally dark in fruit, you already find truffles, violets, roses, lilacs, black plums cherries. The palate is sensuous, supple, and silky, with a vibrancy to the fruits, a mild of touch of salt, and a refreshing hint of mint that shines at the back end of the finish. Refined, and elegant, this is going to age and evolve for decades. The wine blends 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. 14.4% ABV, 3.78 pH. The harvest took place September 6 - September 21. Yields were 35 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2027-2060."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Powerful but elegant at the same time. Floral notes with a hint of violet. Enticing, juicy extract and tannins that are present but plush and smooth. Long and well balanced with grip on the finish."