Shows stunning depth and drive, with a deep well of blackberry and plum sauce and a lush structure. Superlong, with spice and anise echoing on. A tremendous young wine in the making. Tasted non-blind. —J.M.

Beautiful dense nose with polished dark fruit, leather and wet forest floor. Coffee, sweet tobacco, and Seville orange. Full-bodied and intense on the palate with polished tannins and deep layered texture. Give it four or five years of bottle age to soften. So gorgeous already.
-www.jamessuckling.com, 'Tasting Report: 2010 Bordeaux "More Great Vintage"', 3 Feb 2012

(94-95 pts)
Gorgeous aromas. Tar, dark fruits and forest leaves on the nose. Full body, with lovely velvety tannins and a long aftertaste of dark chocolate, dark fruits and cappuccino. Tasted twice.

Chocolaty, cedary and Christmas fruitcake notes along with some oak, damp earth and forest floor are present in this full-bodied, masculine style of Pomerol, which has a dense ruby/purple color and is a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The wine has a nice chewiness to it and is powerful and muscular, but not quite as silky or complex as some of the other top wines of this appellation. Forget it for 5-7 years and drink it over the following 25. Drink: 2018 - 2043
-Robert Parker, Wine Advocate #205 Feb 2013

(91-93 pts)
2010: This estate, which enjoys a fabulous location on the high plateau of Pomerol with neighbors such as Lafleur, Vieux-Chateau-Certan, Petrus and La Fleur Petrus, should produce even greater wines. While I long for a return to the fabulous Certan de Mays of the early and mid-eighties, the 2010 is an impressive effort. Aromas of black fruits intermixed with an iron-like character, soil, oak and earth undertones emerge from this full-bodied, masculine, borderline rustic wine. With abundant concentration as well as elevated tannins, this Pomerol will require patience. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2030+.

Tasted at JP Moueix. Very deep in colour, the Certan-de-May is showing a lot of alcohol and ripeness on the nose with faint prune and fig notes inflecting the decadent black fruits that I find is a little incongruous to the style of the chateau. The palate is full-bodied with ripe saturated tannins, quite a flamboyant Certan-de-May but missing a little precision and poise towards the finish. It does not “sing” like recent vintages. I will seek to re-evaluate this. Tasted April 2011.

(14-14.2%) Raisiny fruit to smell; a rather rustic, rough texture by today’s standards; strong, chewy tannins which mask and marr the concentrated fruit core. Echoes of 1975? And the character of the fruit is also somewhat raisiny. Overall a very old fashioned feel to this. I can’t see this ever being much fun, at least for my taste. Minimum of a decade. And then with substantial fare to absorb the tannins and reveal the fruit. 2022-35+ [M.Schuster, Bordeaux Mar/Apr 2011]