August 7, 2025
Flirting with perfection - Vieux Château Certan 2018
2018 Vieux Chateau Certan - 99 Points
Today, we have a small parcel of a few bottles and a couple of cases of VCC 2018, which comes from a great vintage and flirts with perfection with a 99+ Point score from the Wine Advocate.
Few estates in Pomerol inspire as much admiration as Vieux Chateau Certan. Owned by the Thienpont family since 1924, this historic chateau lies at the heart of the appellation on a privileged plateau of deep clay and gravel soils. Known for its high proportion of old-vine Cabernet Franc, VCC is a wine of grace, power and precision. Its unmistakable signature blends Pomerol plushness with Left Bank structure, delivering deeply complex, age-worthy wines that rival Bordeaux’s most celebrated names.
The 2018 vintage in Bordeaux was marked by extremes—spring rains and mildew pressure followed by a long, hot summer. The result was a harvest of small, concentrated berries producing deeply coloured, rich wines with ripe tannins and ageing potential. Particularly strong in Pomerol and Pauillac, 2018 is a vintage that combines opulence with structure, and rewards both patience and curiosity.
The 2018 Vieux Chateau Certan is a profound expression of Pomerol’s greatness. A blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc, it offers a complex perfume of black cherries, blueberries, spice, and floral notes, with hints of espresso and sandalwood. The palate is seamless, layered, and elegant, supported by ultra-fine tannins and mineral lift. A wine of structure, purity, and poise, the 2018 VCC will evolve beautifully over the next three to four decades.
As part of today’s offer, we have a couple of 3x75cl cases and a few bottles of this highly scored vintage that is flirting with perfection at 99+ Points from the Wine Advocate.
With limited availability, Pomerol fans don’t hesitate.
Vieux Chateau Certan 2018
€220* In Bond per bottle
99+ Points | Wine Advocate, Lisa Perrotti-Brown
The 2018 Vieux Château Certan is composed of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc, weighing in with 14.4% alcohol and an IPT (total polyphenol index) of 77. Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the nose is locked down tight at this youthful stage, requiring a lot of patient swirling to release a profound powerhouse of a perfume: preserved plums, blueberry compote, ripe black cherries and boysenberries, leading to suggestions of Indian spices, lilacs, espresso and licorice, plus a waft of sandalwood. The medium to full-bodied palate has an amazing sense of cohesiveness. There are no edges to the seamless flow of exquisitely fine-grained tannins and perfectly knit acidity, beautifully framing the blue and black fruits, which are at once elegant and also so, so rich. It finishes with many slowly lapping waves of minerals and exotic spices, which just go on and on. It is a wine that is, simply put, an experience not to be missed. Give it a good 6-8 years in the cellar and drink it over the next 30 years or more.
99 Points | Jeb Dunnuck
The flagship 2018 Vieux Château Certan is based on 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc and was brought up in (I suspect) roughly 50% new French oak. It tips the scale at 14.5% natural alcohol, which is the same as the 2010 (slightly higher than the 2009) and has a pH of 3.78, which is also very close to the 2010. This rock star of a Pomerol offers a kaleidoscopic array of red, black, and blue fruits, white truffle, spring flowers, tobacco, and crushed rock-like minerality on the nose. It has perfectly integrated oak, gorgeous concentration, building yet ultra-fine tannins, and not a hard edge to be found. I was able to follow this bottle for multiple days, and the large Cabernet Franc component became more and dominant, yet it never truly shut down and was always a joy to drink. Nevertheless, a good 7-8 years of bottle age are warranted, and it should evolve for 30-40 years in cold cellars. Again, the Thienpont family produces a heavenly wine that wine lovers should all have in their cellar. Along with Petrus, Conseillante, Lafleur, and a handful of others, it's one of the appellation's most singular wines.
99 Points | James Suckling
Blackberry and hints of plum with intense wet-earth and black-olive undertones. Bark and some iodine. Full-bodied with superb depth of fruit and structure. The palate is so broad with super tannins. This is a powerful and very structured VCC with fantastic depth and muscle. Down-to-earth style. You can taste the soil. 70% merlot and 30% cabernet franc. One for long cellar aging. Old-vine character. Try after 2027.
*Prices are accurate as of the blog publication date and may be subject to change.