2025 Vieux Château Certan

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The 2025 Vieux Château Certan once again belongs to the absolute elite of Pomerol. Under the leadership of Alexandre and Guillaume Thienpont, this iconic estate continues to produce wines year after year that combine power, finesse, and terroir expression in an exceptional way. In 2025, the quality of the Merlot and Cabernet Franc, in particular, forms the basis for a wine with enormous depth, impressive precision, and aging potential that extends over several decades.

Vieux Château Certan: one of the big names of Pomerol

Vieux Château Certan is one of the most prestigious estates on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. Situated on the famous Pomerol plateau, the château boasts a unique mosaic of clay, gravel, and iron-rich soils. This combination creates an exceptional balance between power, refinement, and aromatic complexity.

Under the Thienpont family, Vieux Château Certan has developed into one of Bordeaux's most consistent top producers. The wines combine the opulence of great Pomerol with an almost Burgundian precision, making them among the most sought-after Bordeaux wines worldwide.

For more information about the domain, please refer to the Winery tab.

A dry year with impressive concentration

The 2025 vintage was characterized by an exceptionally dry summer. The limited rainfall from mid-June resulted in small grapes with thick skins, high concentration, and at the same time a remarkable amount of natural freshness. At the end of August, a welcome period of rain brought sufficient relief to complete the ripening perfectly.

According to the team at Vieux Château Certan, the Merlots were particularly impressive. They yielded grapes with great aromatic intensity, depth, and exceptional texture. The Cabernet Franc also reached a very high level and added extra complexity, structure, and tension to the final blend.

The yield was only 22 hectoliters per hectare, which further enhanced the concentration of the wine. The harvest proceeded quickly and precisely between September 8 and 18, after which malolactic fermentation took place between mid- and late October. The final blend consists of 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. The alcohol content is 14.01% at a pH of 3.75.

Scent, taste and character

The 2025 Vieux Château Certan opens with a deep and refined aromatic profile of cassis, black cherries, blackberries, and ripe raspberries. Behind this follow layers of violets, graphite, cedarwood, spices, oyster shell, iodine, and subtle mineral notes.

What stands out immediately is the combination of power and elegance. The Merlot provides a rich and velvety core of dark fruit, while the Cabernet Franc adds tension, spiciness, and length. According to various tasters, the 2025 is among the pepperiest and most structured editions of Vieux Château Certan of recent years.

On the palate, the wine displays impressive concentration without ever becoming heavy. The tannins are silky yet very present, giving the wine a solid backbone for long-term aging. The texture is tightly woven and layered, with a continuous interplay between ripe fruit, minerality, and freshness.

The finish is exceptionally long and refined. Notes of blackcurrant, cherry, violet, graphite, and chalky minerality linger for minutes. It is a wine that is intellectual and refined rather than exuberant, and which will continue to develop over decades.

Professional reviews

The 2025 Vieux Château Certan is among the most highly regarded wines of Bordeaux En Primeur 2025.

James Suckling: 98-99 points
Suckling praises the exceptional finesse, the pure fruit expression, and the impressive length of the wine. The combination of minerality, precision, and integrated tannins, in particular, makes a deep impression.

The Wine Advocate: 94-96 points (William Kelley)
Kelley describes the wine as rich, concentrated, and seriously structured, with a dense core of fruit, beautiful tannins, and a long, powerful finish.

Vinous: 95-97 points (Neal Martin)
Martin emphasizes the quality of the Cabernet Franc and calls the wine a vertical, intellectual Vieux Château Certan with great tension, chalky tannins, and great future potential.

In addition, the wine was ranked among the absolute top of Pomerol in 2025 by various international critics, who particularly praised the balance between concentration, freshness, and terroir expression.