2015 - Vieux Chateau Certan, Pomerol

The 2015 VCC is a blend of 80% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Franc, and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon and it has a deep garnet color. It prances out with scents of flamboyant black cherry pie, plum preserves and blueberry compote, giving way to suggestions of truffles, smoked meats, Indian spices, and fragrant soil, with a touch of sandalwood and rose oil. Full-bodied, the palate is bursting with expressive, exotic spices and floral notes, framed by ripe, grainy tannins and wonderful tension, finishing very long and fragrant. The pH is about 3.7 - very impressive for such a warm year.

Understated brilliance, with restraint shown in its precisely carved cassis and bilberry fruit on the opening, softening through the mid palate to show creamier raspberry and damson fruit, with black truffles and cocoa bean delivering the Pomerol caress. Expert construction, tannic architecture fully in focus but overlaid with the succulence of the vintage, such a good wine that has decades of it. . 50% new oak for ageing. Alexandre Thienpont owner.

The 2015 Vieux Château Certan vindicates my assessment from just a few months ago. This bottle still shows traces of VA when contrasted against, say, La Conseillante or Hosanna. The palate has a sweet entry with candied orange peel and cough candy notes. This has light tannins and a keen line of acidity, though again, it is unequivocally a little warm on the finish. Alexandre Thienpont never warmed to this vintage and though certainly not terrible, the 2015 is a slipped catch.