The freshness and dynamic sense to the wine is so surprising. Minerally and salty. It's full yet racy. Black ink and oyster shell. Excellent length. 25% cabernet franc, 5% cabernet sauvignon and the rest, merlot.

The 2022 Vieux Chateau Certan is s total stunner. Readers will find a magical wine, a Pomerol that satisfies both the intellectual and hedonistic senses. Vertical and explosive, with stunning presence, the 2022 VCC simply has it all. Time in the glass reveals myriad shades of nuance. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, menthol, licorice and plum literally soar out of the glass. The tannins are present but nearly buried by the wine's deep, layered fruit. But more than anything else, it is the balance, the total sense of harmony, that is most impressive. I simply can’t ask anything more of the 2022, hence its lofty and well-deserved rating. Bravo!

A blend of 75% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon (very similar to the 2019), the 2022 Vieux Chateau Certan is a magical wine of exemplary harmony and balance. Offering up complex aromas of dark berries and cherries mingled with notions of exotic spices, licorice, iris, violets and loamy soil, it's full-bodied, supple and seamless, its sweet structuring tannins entirely concealed by a multidimensional core of pure, vibrant fruit. This sensual, perfumed Pomerol is likely to rank alongside the 2019 and 2016 in the pantheon of recent Vieux Chateau Certan vintages.