A sophisticated wine, glamourous yet refined with nuances of perfumed flowers, liquorice, crushed stones, dark chocolate and blackcurrants - all subtly presented but so fitting together. Great energy and clarity from the start, the flavours just hit the tongue and expand but slowly and carefully, the wonderful perfume permeating and driving down layer upon layer of softly sweet, ripe fruit and salty mineral freshness. Multi-dimensional in the best way - one you want to sit with and enjoy the aromatic complexities. Divine. Drinking Window 2030 - 2050
Tasted by Georgina Hindle (at Bordeaux, 05 Jan 2022)
Part of Bordeaux 2019 in bottle: overview plus top-scoring wines

The nose is so beautiful, offering dried flowers, white pepper and other spices. Yet,there’s also bright, blue fruit. Tar, too. Love the depth of fruit here. The wine flows across the palate with so well integrated tannins. You just want to drink it. Glorious. The cabernet in this makes it almost Medoc-like. A blend of 78% merlot, 15% cabernet franc and 7% cabernet sauvignon.

Very deep purple-black in color, the 2019 Vieux Château Certan slowly opens out to reveal a heart-stopping perfume of red roses, kirsch, black raspberries, violets and star anise over a powerful core of plum preserves, blueberry pie and boysenberries plus hints of cardamom, sandalwood and Ceylon tea. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is achingly graceful, featuring tightly wound layers of crunchy blue and black fruits with tannins so ripe and finely grained, you really have to look for them. The acidity here is absolutely seamless, and the finish explodes into an array of mineral sparks. Be prepared to fall head over heals for this one.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (June 2020 ), June 2020

The 2019 Vieux Château Certan was picked September 23–27 and October 2–3, and matured in two-thirds new oak. Alexandre Thienpont mentioned that the 2019 includes a lot of Cabernet Sauvignon, which displayed such distinctive aromatics that he had to include it in the final blend (unlike in 2020). He pointed to a scent of immortelle, a plant that grows on sand dunes. This was stunning as a barrel sample, and there is no change in bottle. It still delivers exquisitely delineated, vivacious scents of red fruit, touches of crushed stone and a suggestion of brine. The palate is medium-bodied and classic in style, the expressive Cabernet components complementing the Merlot. There’s fine backbone here, and this VCC fans out gloriously on the finish, with a surfeit of freshness and tension. Yet unlike some recent vintages, this is a Pomerol that says "Attendez!" Give it a decade in a cellar if you know what’s good for you.

The 2019 Vieux Château Certan is a heady, rich wine that captures all of the exoticism of the year. Crème de cassis, graphite, crushed rocks, lavender and spice are some of the many aromas and flavors that run through the 2019. This is an especially ripe, unctuous style for VCC. It will be interesting to see what aging brings, as there is plenty of grip and structure underneath a core of dense fruit that remains remarkably primary.