VIEUX CHÂTEAU CERTAN

The 2018 Vieux Château Certan is delicate, silky and understated, just as it was in barrel. Inky blue/purplish berry fruit, mint, lavender, spice and wild flowers all open in the glass. The 30% Cabernet Franc, which is high for present-day standards, adds tons of aromatic lift as well as freshness, while bright, saline-infused notes extend the finish. Fine tannins and mid-weight structure give the 2018 an air of finesse that is impossible to miss. If I had to bet on one 2018 that could very well surprise 10-20 years out, it might very well be VCC. Drinking range: 2026 - 2058 Rating: 97 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Mar 2021)

Liquid violets, cassis, blueberries, and beautiful floral notes all emerge from the 2018 Vieux Château Certan, which is deep, profound, and layered on the palate, with ultra-fine tannins. Full-bodied, with thrilling purity, it builds on the palate, with beautiful tannins, and notable freshness. It's showing its Cabernet Franc component today, with beautiful purity, elegance, and balance, as well as tons of structure. The 2018 is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc that hit 14.4% natural alcohol with an IPT of 77 and a pH of 3.78. It’s another brilliant wine from Thienpont family that’s going to evolve for decades. Rating: 96-98 Jeb Dunnuck, www.jebdunnuck.com (May 2019)

70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 40 hl/ha. pH 3.78. Barrel sample. Darkest cherry red. Dark fruited and quite mineral on the nose, but fragrant with that dark, subtle fruit. Lively and with a dash of herbs for complexity. At the moment this is rather sober on the palate. That Cabernet freshness is there and bringing great finesse to the tannins. Opens up to more dark and subtle fragrance. Really refined and beautifully dry and elegant. Very long, very tender in texture even if there's a charge of tannins hiding underneath. There is a subtle beauty. I need half an hour with this wine not five minutes because it unfurls on the palate. This is already a great wine but it is going to be a very great wine. Alexandre Thienpont describes it as cashmere but I think of it as the finest of cotton sheets, ironed smooth, with very high thread count. (JH) Drinking range: 2028 - 2048 Rating: 18.5 Julia Harding MW, www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2019)

The 2018 Vieux Château Certan is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. Yields were 40 hectoliters per hectare. The wine has a pH of 3.78, 14.4% alcohol and an IPT (total polyphenol index) of 77. Medium to deep garnet-purple—it has a very vibrant color—it drifts effortlessly out of the glass with wonderfully intense, beautifully delineated scents of red roses, black raspberries, kirsch and Darjeeling tea before the powerful, profound black fruits kick in: baked plums, wild blueberries, molten licorice and mulberries with touches of cigar box, cinnamon stick, tapenade and truffles. Full-bodied, rich, densely packed and revealing layer upon layer of red and black fruits with an incredible array of floral and spicy sparks, it has a high level of super ripe, incredibly fine, velvety soft tannins and fantastic freshness (not just from acid but from bright, crunchy fruit). It finishes very long, marvelously layered and with such jaw-dropping brightness from the fruit, the end is almost electric. Incredible. Rating: 97-100 Lisa Perrotti-Brown, RobertParker.com (Apr 2019)

This is a significant VCC with masses of fruit and juicy tannins. It’s fresh, but impresses you with the rich and powerful fruit. A tower of a wine. Incredible depth and density. Thick and muscular. It is 30 per cent cabernet franc, the rest merlot. Rating: 99-100 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Apr 2019)

A blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc; there is Cabernet Sauvignon in the vineyard too, but none was considered of the level required for the grand vin. The harvest started on September 19th, followed by a second stage of picking between September 24th and the 26th, and a final push between October 1st and the 9th. The eventual yield was 30 hl/ha. The alcohol is 14.4%, the pH 3.78. The wine was made with one-third less remontage than usual, because the skin-to-juice ratio was "on the edge", says Guillaume Thienpont. The nose is beautiful, perfumed, with a very classic fragrance, showing notes of rose petals and violets. It has a very cool style, fresh and polished, showing the delicate fragrance of the nose, violets, some sweet red cherry character, a little black plum, with a silky substance through the middle, as well as a lovely energy and succulence. There is a fragrant freshness here, with a polished and substantial grip underneath, from a rich frame of tannins. Perfumed, with a little backbone of grained pencil shavings and graphite behind the floral delicacy, very classic and poised, defined and fresh, this has real panache, with a style that seeks to transcend rather than embrace the vintage. The élevage here will be in 70% new oak, 30% older barrels. Rating: 97-99 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2019)

While the tannins give this wine a firm character, it is the perfumed, ripe Cabernet Franc that is so expressive and gives the wine its structured, complex character. Spice from the wood aging shines through, but the weight of the fruit is impressive and adds elegance. There's long aging potential for this fabulous wine. Rating: 99 Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast www.winemag.com (Apr 2019)

This is complex, precise and concentrated but tempered with stunning potential. There is so much flavour and juice here with crushed tobacco and liquorice root alongside richly textured raspberry and blueberry fruits - all extremely well balanced and yet reaching down into the depths promising great ageing. A VCC that is full of layers, with the beauty of this vintage making them all relatively discernible even at this early stage because the tannins are not balled together but allow the light in between. An excellent year for Cabernet Franc, which always favours this estate - owner Alexandre Thienpont said that they weren’t just useful but essential this year, giving freshness and focus to the hedonism of the Merlots, and dampening down the alcohols. No press wine in the blend as yet, and not sure if they will use it. A yield of 40hl/ha. Drinking range: 2027 - 2044 Rating: 98-100 Jane Anson, Decanter (Mar 2019)