Medium color, hint of development. Smoke, toffee, coffee and a charred-barrel nuance on the nose. Supple but restrained on the palate, with good but not outstanding concentration and intensity of flavor. There's an edge of austerity and a firmness on the finish that promise a graceful evolution. Still, we expected more richness.

The 1990 Certan de May is a more conventional wine, with loads of jammy, sweet, cedary, and herbaceous cassis scents intermixed with a roasted herb, toasty wood character. Rich and full-bodied, as well as low in acidity and soft, the wine is already revealing some amber at the edge, and a precocious, flattering personality. Drink it now and over the next 15 years.

Bordeaux Book, 4th Edition January, 2003 This proved to be a very quick-evolving vintage for Certan de May. Somewhat loosely knit from its early days, the wine now has a dark garnet color with considerable amber at the edge, and its aromatics suggest an open-air Provencal market with the addition of creme de cassis. The wine is expansive, very low in acidity, very good, but hardly has inspirational levels of concentration or depth. The tannins are, as the French say, fondu (meaning melted), and the wine is not likely to get any better. It is such a great vintage, one would have hoped for greater concentration and intensity, but the wine is still very good. Anticipated maturity: Now-2008.Last tasted, 4/02. The 1990 Certan de May is a more conventional wine, with loads of jammy, sweet, cedary, and herbaceous cassis scents intermixed with a roasted herb, toasty wood character. Rich and full-bodied, as well as low in acidity and soft, the wine is already revealing some amber at the edge, and a precocious, flattering personality. Drink it now and over the next 15 years. (91)