Vieux Chateau Certan 2010

JAMES SUCKLING: "This is off the charts. I am blown away. This is so concentrated yet perfect. With chocolate, blackberry, coffee. Full and amazing in density and balanced. The grapes were tiny and the production was tiny. I am speechless. This may match the legendary 1947 or 1945."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: 100 THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "An expressive nose violets, truffle, boysenberry, chocolate and liqueur notes. Powerful, dense and perfectly balanced, the wine is intense, silky, velvety, pure, fresh, ripe and intense. The finish is long, seamless and coats your palate with flavor, texture and rich sensations that linger. The wine changes with each sip, giving you something new to think about with each sip, sniff and taste. This note was written about the wine based on tasting it with only a pop and pour. With time and air, this is going to a legendary vintage for Alexandre Thienpont and Vieux Chateau Certan that future generations of collectors will covet. If you have the funds, this is the wine to buy."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2010 Vieux Chateau Certan, a blend of 86% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 6% Cabernet Sauvignon, tips the scales at 14.5% alcohol. Production was lower than in 2009 and the alcohol slightly higher, but the pH is 3.7, which is surprisingly reasonable given the lofty power and alcoholic clout this full-bodied wine possesses. Dense purple-colored , the 2010 displays a vivid yet astonishing array of spice box, red, blue and black fruits, crushed rock and spring flowers. The oak is well-concealed behind the lavish concentration and richness. Exceptionally pure, this unbelievable wine flirts with perfection. Unfortunately, there is 20% less of it than in 2009, and the tannins warrant a good 8-10 years of cellaring, as I suspect it could actually close down. This is another 40- to 50-year effort in 2010 that should elicit considerable interest from wine consumers. Thienpont thinks he has produced three wines - 2008, 2009 and 2010 - that are the greatest trilogy in the history of Vieux Chateau Certan, rivaling what this estate did in 1947, 1948 and 1949." Drink: 2023 - 2063.

WINE SPECTATOR: "A stunner, this marries structured tobacco, ganache and loam notes to a glorious core of raspberry, blackberry and plum coulis flavors, accented by coffee, roasted mesquite and black tea aromatics. A terrific minerality courses throughout, with the finish letting power and refinement play out almost endlessly. Best from 2017 through 2040. 3,500 cases made."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Very small crop - 35 hl/ha (compared to 42 hl/ha in 2009). A Merlot vintage; only 8% Cabernet Franc. Average IPT is 90, with lots of acid. Very dark crimson. Pretty floral and scented and pretty. Very concentrated and intense. Lots of minerals on the finish. Lovely rich satisfying undertow. Hint of ripe pears oddly enough. Lovely completeness. Great balance and build. Very, very long. The strongest right-bank wine so far. Excellent layers. Very serious – a marvellously intellectual Merlot!"

WEINWISSER: "86 % Merlot, 8 % Cabernet Franc, 6 % Cabernet Sauvignon. Tiefes Purpur. Schlankes Bouquet, feine Würze, zurzeit von Cabernet geprägt, Brombeertouch. Im Gaumen seidig, sehr lang, mit einer Supereleganz und einer solchen Diskretion, dass er fast nicht auffällt. Man muss ihm entgegengehen. Kaum zu glauben, dass es sich um einen Pomerol mit 14,5 Volumenprozent Alkohol handelt. Alexandre Thienpont vergleicht ihn mit dem 1998er. Hoffentlich schafft er es dorthin."