Vieux Chateau Certan 2020

  • 100 Robert
    Parker
  • 99 James
    Suckling
  • 99 Jeb
    Dunnuck
  • 97 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 95 Decanter
359 97
OFFER Take $20 off your order of $100+
Ships today if ordered in next 11 hours
You purchased this 3/7/24
1
Limit Reached
You purchased this 3/7/24
Alert me about new vintages and availability
Vieux Chateau Certan  2020  Front Bottle Shot
Vieux Chateau Certan  2020  Front Bottle Shot Vieux Chateau Certan  2020  Front Label

Product Details


Varietal

Region

Producer

Vintage
2020

Size
750ML

ABV
14.5%

Features
Collectible

Your Rating

0.0 Not For Me NaN/NaN/N

Somm Note

Winemaker Notes

Professional Ratings

  • 100
    The 2020 Vieux Château Certan is a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, picked on the 14th to the 24th of September for the Merlot, then on the 28th and 29th of September for the Cabernet Franc. The pH is 3.77 and the alcohol is 14.5%. Deep purple-black colored, it needs considerable coaxing, swirling and a lot of patience before it finally lets rip an intoxicating perfume of ripe, juicy black plums, Morello cherries, candied violets, black truffles and crushed rocks, giving way to hints of black tea, molten licorice and Sichuan pepper, plus a waft of dusty red soil. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers achingly ripe, silt-like tannins and shimmering freshness that melds with the black fruits and earthy layers with jaw-dropping seamlessness, finishing with layer upon layer of mineral and savory suggestions and, finally, a gorgeous floral whisper. There are going to be two ways to approach this: 1) Just let the remarkably sensual, inexplicable beauty of it wash over you or 2) Try to unravel all those intricate layers and have it blow you mind. Either way, this is simply an incredible achievement—bravo Alexandre and Guillaume Thienpont!
    Barrel Sample: 98-100
  • 99

    Extraordinary clarity and brilliance on the nose with ink and iodine, blackberry and blueberry. Really perfumed already. Full-bodied with fine tannins and superb depth and length. I love the complexity and the great texture. Energetic finish. Barrel Sample: 98-99

  • 99
    Always one of my favorite wines in just about every vintage, the 2020 Vieux Château Certan is another magical wine in the making, revealing a dense purple hue as well as stunning notes of cassis, bright cherries, chocolate, and flowers. It hits the palate with full-bodied richness, perfect tannins, a dense, layered mid-palate, and one blockbuster of a finish. This is unquestionably one of the biggest, richest, sexiest wines in the vintage, and my money is on it flirting with perfection and delivering 30-40 years of prime drinking. The blend is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, harvested all in September, and hitting 14.5% natural alcohol with a pH of 3.77.
    Barrel Sample: 97-99
  • 97
    With a higher percentage of Merlot than usual, the wine is open, packed with rich fruits as well as very fine tannins. The concentrated structure gives a core that is velvet, rich and impressively perfumed. A very fine wine that will surely age well.
    Barrel Sample: 95-97
  • 95
    Concentrated and complex flavours with a silky, velvety and supremely seductive texture, alongside a ton of energy, freshness and juice. It has dense muscular tannins, and is going to age beautifully. As it opens you get the aromatics coming out, and the Merlot fleshy fruits become generous and welcoming, opulent without being tiring. A little less Cabernet Franc in the blend than normal because one of the three plots has currently been pulled up before replanting. Harvest September 14 to 29. 3.77pH. A yield of 30hl/ha because of the dry weather through the summer followed by the flashes of heat in September, among lowest ever (similar to 2010).

Other Vintages

2022
  • 100 Vinous
  • 100 Jeb
    Dunnuck
  • 99 Robert
    Parker
  • 99 James
    Suckling
  • 98 Decanter
2021
  • 98 Vinous
  • 98 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 97 James
    Suckling
  • 96 Decanter
  • 95 Robert
    Parker
  • 95 Jeb
    Dunnuck
2019
  • 100 Robert
    Parker
  • 99 James
    Suckling
  • 99 Vinous
  • 98 Jeb
    Dunnuck
  • 97 Wine
    Spectator
  • 97 Decanter
  • 96 Wine
    Enthusiast
2018
  • 100 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 99 Jeb
    Dunnuck
  • 99 Robert
    Parker
  • 99 James
    Suckling
  • 98 Decanter
2017
  • 98 Jeb
    Dunnuck
  • 98 Wine
    Spectator
  • 98 Robert
    Parker
  • 98 James
    Suckling
  • 96 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 93 Decanter
2016
  • 100 Robert
    Parker
  • 100 Jeb
    Dunnuck
  • 100 Vinous
  • 99 James
    Suckling
  • 98 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 97 Decanter
  • 97 Wine
    Spectator
2015
  • 100 James
    Suckling
  • 100 Jeb
    Dunnuck
  • 99 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 98 Robert
    Parker
  • 97 Decanter
  • 97 Wine
    Spectator
2012
  • 94 Decanter
2011
  • 97 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 96 James
    Suckling
  • 96 Robert
    Parker
  • 94 Wine
    Spectator
2010
  • 100 James
    Suckling
  • 100 Robert
    Parker
  • 98 Wine
    Spectator
2009
  • 100 James
    Suckling
  • 99 Robert
    Parker
  • 97 Wine
    Spectator
2008
  • 94 Wine
    Enthusiast
  • 94 James
    Suckling
  • 93 Robert
    Parker
  • 92 Wine
    Spectator
2006
  • 96 Robert
    Parker
  • 95 Wine &
    Spirits
  • 95 Wine
    Spectator
2005
  • 97 Wine
    Spectator
  • 95 Robert
    Parker
2004
  • 94 Wine
    Spectator
  • 93 Robert
    Parker
2003
  • 93 Robert
    Parker
  • 90 Wine
    Spectator
2002
  • 93 Robert
    Parker
2001
  • 96 James
    Suckling
  • 94 Wine
    Spectator
  • 93 Robert
    Parker
1999
  • 91 Robert
    Parker
1998
  • 97 Wine &
    Spirits
  • 94 Wine
    Spectator
  • 92 Robert
    Parker
1988
  • 91 Wine
    Spectator
1982
  • 94 Robert
    Parker
  • 91 Wine
    Spectator
Vieux Chateau Certan

Vieux Chateau Certan

View all products
Vieux Chateau Certan, France
Vieux Chateau Certan Vieux Chateau Certan Winery Image
Vieux Chateau Certan is the oldest growth in the parish of Pomerol. Its origins date back to the beginning of the 16th century when the Demay family, originally from Scotland, came to liveo n the property. The local vicinity takes its name from this old chateau. In 1858, the property was purchased by Charles Bousquet who built the buildings that stand to this day. In 1924, Georges Thienpont, a wine shipper from Etikhove in Belgium, bought the chateau that, since 1957, has been run by a company formed by the Thienpont heirs.
Image for Bordeaux Blends content section
View all products

One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.

Image for Pomerol Wine Bordeaux, France content section

Pomerol Wine

Bordeaux, France

View all products

A source of exceptionally sensual and glamorous red wines, Pomerol is actually a rather small appellation in an unassuming countryside. It sits on a plateau immediately northeast of the city of Libourne on the right bank of the Dordogne River. Pomerol and St-Émilion are the stars of what is referred to as Right Bank Bordeaux: Merlot-dominant red blends completed by various amounts of Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Sauvignon. While Pomerol has no official classification system, its best wines are some of the world’s most sought after.

Historically Pomerol attached itself to the larger and more picturesque neighboring region of St-Émilion until the late 1800s when discerning French consumers began to recognize the quality and distinction of Pomerol on its own. Its popularity spread to northern Europe in the early 1900s.

After some notable vintages of the 1940s, the Pomerol producer, Petrus, began to achieve great international attention and brought widespread recognition to the appellation. Its subsequent distribution by the successful Libourne merchant, Jean-Pierre Mouiex, magnified Pomerol's fame after the Second World War.

Perfect for Merlot, the soils of Pomerol—clay on top of well-drained subsoil—help to create wines capable of displaying an unprecedented concentration of color and flavor.

The best Pomerol wines will be intensely hued, with qualities of fresh wild berries, dried fig or concentrated black plum preserves. Aromas may be of forest floor, sifted cocoa powder, anise, exotic spice or toasted sugar and will have a silky, smooth but intense texture.

FCA746239_2020 Item# 746239

Internet Explorer is no longer supported.
Please use a different browser like Edge, Chrome or Firefox to enjoy all that Wine.com has to offer.

It's easy to make the switch.
Enjoy better browsing and increased security.

Yes, Update Now

Search for ""