Vieux Chateau Certan 2001

DECANTER: "2001 was a vintage that very much suited Pomerol, and the Merlot here takes precedence over the Cabernet Franc, expanding sideways, juicy and smiling. This is a show stopper of a wine, from the very first moment that you pour it. Concentrated and powerful, it gathers pace through the palate with flavours of truffle, cinnamon, toasted almonds, rich plum and damson. The texture is of cashmere and silk, the fruit palate varied and balanced. You can open it now, but there's no rush, even at close to 18 years on."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Magnum of gloriousness. Wonderfully fresh and lively still. Lifted nose with real drive. Masses of ripe Merlot character. Such elegance! Char, tar and polish. The wine was served in Zalto glasses and there seemed to be such a contrast between the delicacy of these wafer-thin glasses and the massive opulence and richness of this great wine."

JAMES SUCKLING: "This wine possess great beauty, it is almost Burgundian with its soft tannins and sweet fruit. Pure class and finesse in this, it is round and thick, long and very yummy. No need to wait on this, pull the cork. This vintage had more Merlot than the 2000 and you can tell. A subtle wine."

WEINWISSER: "Dunkles, tiefes Purpur, feiner Rand. Delikates Bouquet, für eine feine Würze sorgender Cabernet Franc, weicher, reifer, aber nicht zu fetter Merlot, Pfefferkuchen, Maulbeeren, Pflaumen. Homogener, feiner Gaumen, samtene, runde Tannine, wieder herrlicher Pflaumenton, Lakritze, im Finale dunkle Hölzer, Zimt und Vanille, voll auf Eleganz setzend, Brombeeren im langen Finale. Zu den feinsten, grössten Pomerols gehörend."

FALSTAFF: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Einladendes dunkles Waldbeerkonfit, reife Pflaumen, zart tabakig, etwas Schokolade. Stoffig, elegant, rund, bereits sehr zugänglich, angenehme Extraktsüße. Bleibt haften, hat einen ersten Trinkhöhepunkt erreicht, mineralisch, schokoladiger Touch, reife Pflaumen, straff und anhaltend."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "A brilliant effort from Alexandre Thienpont, this blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc is a deep purple-colored, fleshy, layered effort offering a sweet nose of creosote, incense, Christmas spices, plenty of red and black fruits, and hints of licorice as well as new oak. Rich, medium to full-bodied, with tremendous purity in addition to nobility, give it two more years of cellaring and drink it over the next following 15-18 years."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "45 minutes of air really brought out the floral, truffle and cherry elements. Medium/full bodied, soft, elegant and with loads of fresh, sweet, ripe, earthy fruits, this is still quite the charmer."

WINE SPECTATOR: "This is grippy and earthy at first, with tobacco, warm stone, mulled currant and fig fruit notes. Settles down with time in the glass, showing more polish and a pretty violet detail through the finish.—Blind ´01/´03/´05 Bordeaux retrospective (December 2017). Drink now through 2027. 4,000 cases made."