The 2016 Vieux Chateau Certan is blended of 85% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep garnet-purple in color, it leaps from the glass with pristine, vivid notions of candied violets, chocolate-covered cherries, blackberry compote and mulberries with fragrant touches of raspberry leaves, crushed rocks, licorice, cumin seed and yeast extract plus a waft of red roses. Medium to full-bodied and beautifully elegant, the palate builds from a quiet intensity to an incredibly well-sustained aria of crunchy red and black cherries notes plus tons of floral undertones, framed by exquisitely soft yet firm tannins and seamless freshness, finishing very long with lingering mineral and floral sparks. How does this 2016 compare to the also amazing 2015 vintage? Stylistically they are very different, as my notes on each should convey, but beyond this I am struck by the incredible harmony and seamlessness of the 2016 along with its amazing depth and energy this year. Bravo! Nov 2018, www.robertparker.com
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine AdvocateScore: 100/100
The balance and finesse to this wine are really beautiful with ultra-fine tannins and beautiful fruit. It’s full and structured yet so long and intense. It’s a wine that seduces you with every sip — already. Great selection here. Quite simply turbocharged at the end. Mar 2017, www.jamessuckling.com
James SucklingScore: 98-99/100
The 2016 Vieux Château Certan is a wine of extraordinary beauty. Rich, seamless and voluptuous in the glass, it exudes sensuality in all of its dimensions. Tasted as a hypothetical blend, the 2016 is less expressive than the separate lots were when I tasted them a few months ago. A rush of dark cherry, inky blue/purplish fruit, crushed rocks, lavender and rose petal infuses the creamy, voluptuous finish. The 2016 manages to be dense and rich, but with no excess weight. It is quite simply a remarkable wine. Apr 2017, www.vinous.com
Antonio Galloni, VinousScore: 97-100/100
A higher proportion of Merlot than usual in the blend has given this fine wine its sumptuous character. In contrast, it has a classically perfumed character and fine black-cherry fruit. It is structured, with a firm base of generous tannins. Beautifully balanced, it is obviously for the long haul. Apr 2017, Roger Voss, www.wineenthusiast.com
Wine EnthusiastScore: 97-99/100
85% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. Sumptuous nose. Great lift. Real race and dancing stuff. Good structure and line. Nothing sweet or fleshy about this but lovely ripeness and nobility. Amazing persistence and elegance in claret mode. Apr 2017, www.jancisrobinson.com, Drink: 2025-2045
Jancis Robinson MWScore: 19/20Drink 2025-2045
Grab fresh flowers, buy truffles, pick a bushel of fresh plums from the market and you get the idea of the aromatics. Full bodied, silky, plush and sensuous, the wine shows freshness coupled with ripe, juicy, fresh, dark fruits and concentration. Even with the concentration and tannins, the wine is a dancer — light on its feet, balanced and fresh-faced. Blending 85% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine reached 14.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.77. Picking took place October 3 to October 18, making this latest harvest in the history of Vieux Chateau Certan. Apr 2017, www.thewinecellarinsider.com
Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar InsiderScore: 97-98/100
No. 9 in Top 10 Right Bank Bordeaux. A seductive aroma of spices and violets with a palate that is opulent, complex and deep. Love the suave, dense tannins and the intensity along with purity of flavors. This is an extremely successful year for VCC – wonderful freshness and lifted aromatic profile with very long finish. Finesse meets intensity in 2016. The alcohol is 14.5% alcohol which is the modern norm. 85% Merlot wth the rest Cabernet Franc (1% Cab Sauvignon). Apr 2017, www.jeanniecholee.com
Jeannie Cho Lee MWScore: 97/100
The 2016 Vieux Chateau Certan is a blend of 85% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon that was picked at 40.50 hectoliters per hectare, in three stages of picking: 3-7, 10-11 and 17-18 October. It has a high IPT of 82 and a pH of 3.77. It has a very refined bouquet with blackberry, briary and morello cherries that are tightly wound at first, but open gradually with aeration. The Merlot is fully in control aromatically; this is not a VCC governed by the Cabernet Franc this year, consistent with the 2016 vintage. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannin. There is plenty of dark berry fruit laced with hints of earl grey and bay leaf, a complex and cerebral Pomerol with a long, precise and (to put it banally) delicious finish. This is another outstanding wine from Alexandre and Guillaume Thienpont. Apr 2017, www.robertparker.com, Drink: 2022-2060
Neal MartinScore: 95-97/100Drink 2022-2060
This is a muscular, big wine, more so than in some years, but it is so precise and intellectual, and one of the more austere takes on the vintage at this early stage. The 2015 was more of a crowd-pleaser perhaps, but this has such a gripping, thrilling sense of well drawn out fruit wrapped up in fresh, floral layers. The tannins have an IPT of 82, but are extremely ripe, totally delicious and beautifully constructed. They found more difference between young and old vines compared to the previous year, because of the stress in the summer, so 66% of production made it into the grand vin compared to 75% in 2015. 85% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. Apr 2017, www.decanter.com, Drink: 2027-2050
DecanterScore: 95/100Drink 2027-2050
Bordeaux / France
2022-2060