2023 Vieux Chateau Certan
Buying options
Tasting notes
This is a stunning wine in 2023, with an expressive, floral nose. Crystallised violets mingle with plump red fruit – vibrant cherry and plum. It’s juicy and fresh, with great concentration of fruit on the mid-palate, an elegant, sleek mouth-feel and powdered tannins that are very fine and supple. There is 14% alcohol here, but you don’t feel it at all; it’s gorgeously balanced with 3.7pH. Aged in two thirds new oak. Blend: 82% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Franc
Critic scores
Average Score
James Suckling
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Based on 82% Merlot and 18% Cabernet Franc and aged 18 months in 66% new French oak, the 2023 Vieux Château Certan sports brilliant red, blue, and black fruits as well as smoky tobacco, liquid violets, graphite, and hints of chocolate. Including no Cabernet Sauvignon due to the heatwave, this plump, full-bodied, ripe, sexy Vieux Château Certan is already impossible to resist yet is going to benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age and drink brilliantly for three decades. There are roughly 3,333 cases produced. Drink 2029-2059.
The 2023 Vieux Château Certan is wonderfully complex and dynamic in the glass. The layers here are just remarkable. That sort of dimension is one of the qualities that was hard to come by in 2023. Dark blue-toned fruit, lavender, scorched earth, new leather and menthol soar, lending tons of vertical, explosive energy. Floral and savory overtones develop with air, adding further shades of nuance. What a gorgeous and complete wine this is.
The 2023 Vieux Château Certan is wonderfully complex and dynamic in the glass. The layers here are just remarkable. That sort of dimension is one of the qualities that was hard to come by in 2023. Dark blue-toned fruit, lavender, scorched earth, new leather and menthol soar, lending tons of vertical, explosive energy. Floral and savory overtones develop with air, adding further shades of nuance. What a gorgeous and complete wine this is
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.