Vieux Château Certan
Vieux Château Certan
Pomerol
2005

The producer

Squeezed between Petrus and the tiny Le Pin, VCC demands attention for position alone. The 14-hectare vineyard – comprised of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and an unusual 5% Cabernet Sauvignon – is meticulously cared for and the Grand Vin matures for between 18-22 months in 100% new French oak barrels.

Owned by the Belgian merchant Georges Thienpont and his family since 1924, VCC has been well-tended for several generations. Alexandre Thienpont renovated the winemaking facilities and cellars in 1988, also introducing lower yields and starting to pick the fruit slightly riper – moves which further improved the quality of the estate’s wines.  

Today current generation Guillaume Thienpont is in charge. The wine varies its profile in differing vintages with the Cabernet Franc occasionally showing its presence more. Whichever prevails, VCC is a classic, long-lived Pomerol of intensity and finesse.

The wine

Grape material for the Grand Vin is sourced from some of the oldest vines in Pomerol, ranging in age from 20 to 80 years old, at one of the higher points of the plateau. The blend varies with vintage conditions but usually comprises around 75% Merlot, with 20% Cabernet Franc and the remainder Cabernet Sauvignon. Fermentation takes place in a combination of large oak vats and stainless steel tanks and is followed by ageing for about 20 months in 50% new French oak barrels.

The wine varies its profile in differing vintages with the Cabernet Franc occasionally showing its presence more. Whichever prevails, VCC is a classic, long-lived Pomerol of intensity, concentration, and finesse.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.