1995 Vieux Chateau Certan
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Tasting notes
The 1995 Vieux Château Certan is a very capable wine that is now reaching its peak. The Cabernet Franc has always been the key component, imparting a lovely ferrous, undergrowth note on the nose that neatly counterbalances the intense red and black fruit laced with mint. The palate is ripe and generous with kirsch and red plum, quite saturated and maybe even "glossy". Maybe my one criticism is the toastiness of the oak on the finish that lends it a Rioja-like personality, but otherwise this is very fine. Taken from the Pomerol book authored by Neal Martin.
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Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
Warming, rich, savoury nose. Big and beefy with some floral (lily?) notes. Succulent. Perhaps it could do with just a point of freshness more but it’s a very pleasing drink already. (JR)
Frightful bottle variation left me perplexed about just where this wine fits in Bordeaux's qualitative hierarchy. I tasted the wine three times since bottling, all within a 14 day period. Twice the wine was extremely closed and firm, with an evolved plum/garnet color, high levels of tannin, sweet black currant, prune, and olive-tinged fruit, and astringent tannin in the medium-bodied finish. Those two bottles suggested the wine was in need of at least 5-7 years of cellaring, and would keep for two decades. The third bottle was atypically evolved, with a similar color, but it was far more open-knit, displaying Provencal herbs, black cherry, and cassis fruit in a medium-bodied, jammy, lush style. I expect marginal bottle variation, but while the quality was relatively the same in all three bottles, the forward, open-knit example left me puzzled. I will report again on this 1995 after further tastings.
About the producer
The original Château at Vieux Château Certan dates back to around 1770 but the modern history of the estate begins in 1924 - the year that Belgian wine merchant Georges Thienpont purchased the property.