2007 Vieux Chateau Certan
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Tasting notes
The 2007 Vieux Château Certan is a great success for this challenging growing season. It has an attractive bouquet with scents of melted asphalt and mint infusing the black fruit (less of the rooibos this time!). The palate is medium-bodied and sappy in style, not terribly complex but very well balanced. It just seems to run out of puff in the glass. Tasted over lunch in London.
Critic scores
Average Score
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Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
Tasted at BI Wine & Spirits' 10-Year On tasting, the 2007 Vieux Chateau Certan offers enticing aromas of black fruit, melted tar, mint, rooibos tea and undergrowth—complex and enticing, almost matching L'Eglise-Clinet in terms of sophistication. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red berry fruit on the entry and white pepper and cloves on the mid-palate, while the Cabernet component lends structure and a sense of symmetry towards the finish, although it does fade in the glass, whereas the L'Eglise-Clinet "motor" on. This is just beginning to drink now but should last for another 8-10 years. Tasted February 2017.
Soft smudgy garnet and a lightly brick rim. Seriously leafy and Cabernet Franc-like on the nose. Cassis leaf dominates the nose. Rather slight on the palate but juicy. Dry, fresh but not a lot of depth. Yet it is harmonious and there’s nothing forced. (JH)
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.