2011 Vieux Chateau Certan

80 % Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. ‘ Cool, dry weather during winter. Summer-like weather settled in from April. Perfect flowering and a fine, dry summer followed. An early harvest’, starting 6 September. Even deeper crimson than the 2010. The nose is less compelling than the 2010. But it’s all tucked in there and is really very glorious. Ripe fruit and lots of ripe tannin, too. Really needs time. Glossy! A fantastic 2011. (JR)

The 2011 Vieux Château Certan, which the Thienponts compare to 1983 and 1988, has a much lighter, simpler bouquet compared to the previous vintage. Maybe a bit conservative with tobacco-tinged black fruit, though it opens nicely with shavings of black truffle. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp, firm tannins that frame the black fruit laced with cracked black pepper and graphite. Vibrant and vivacious, this is drinking well but has the substance to age in bottle. A dark horse! Tasted at the VCC vertical in Etikhove, Belgium.

The 2011 Vieux Château Certan checks in as a blend of 70% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon that was harvested between September 7-20. It's a beautifully layered, elegant, medium to full-bodied wine from this incredible terroir that offers lots of ripe black cherry, plum, chocolate, violets, and smoked herbs, with a beautiful hint of menthol in the background. Mature and elegant, yet still concentrated and with nicely integrated tannins, this classic Pomerol will continue evolving gracefully for another two decades.