2010 Vieux Château Certan Vieux Pomerol

Vieux Château Certan’s Golden Age is Now

In 10, 20, or 50 years, the Wine Access clients who see the 2010 Vieux Château Certan’s signature pink capsule in their cellars will rejoice. Alexandre Thienpont has capped three exceptional vintages in a row with one of Pomerol’s greatest wines ever, a rich and concentrated “stunner” that James Suckling simply calls “a perfect wine” and backs it up with 100 points. Vieux Château Certan is one of the stratospherically priced Petrus’s only true competitors in Pomerol: It shares the same clay streak, and their 2010s share the same flawless scores.

Today, we have just 156 bottles for the Wine Access clients thinking ahead, and looking to add a little perfection to their cellars.

Vieux Château Certan, dating back to the 18th century, was purchased by the Thienpont family in 1924. Two decades after acquiring the property on the Pomerol plateau, the family released a run of historic wines. At that time, Certan was considered to be second only to Petrus in the Pomerol hierarchy, and that late-1940s era is widely thought of as Vieux Château Certan’s golden age.

That common belief is being shaken as consensus builds that the 2010 Vieux Château Certan could be one of Pomerol’s greatest wines ever. 100 points from James Suckling, 99 from Robert Parker, and 98 from Wine Spectator suggest that the château’s glory days are upon us right now.

Alexandre Thienpont has guided Vieux Château Certan with gifted hands since 1985, and truly rose to the occasion in 2008, 2009, and 2010, when the humble winemaker produced what he believes to be the greatest trilogy ever from the exquisitely located château. Neighboring L’Évangile and La Conseillante and sharing the famous vein of pure clay that elevates the wines of Petrus, Certan is dominated by Merlot, but draws significant power from the Cabernets that thrive in its gravelly plots. It’s a Pomerol that shares the style of the grand wines of the Left Bank.

• ABV 14.50%
• 1 hour
• % Bordeaux Blend
• Serving temperature – 64°