Vieux Château Certan

Vieux Château Certan is among the oldest properties in Pomerol, with origins estimated by professor Henri Enjalbert to around 1770. By 1745 the estate already appeared on Belleyme's cartographic survey under the name 'Sertan,' and it was then the property of the Demay family, established Bordeaux négociants. After the French Revolution the large original domaine was divided, giving birth to what we now know as Vieux Château Certan, Certan de May, and several other estates. For much of the 19th century VCC was considered the leading wine of Pomerol, a position it yielded to the neighbouring Pétrus around 1875. In spring 1924, Belgian wine merchant Georges Thienpont and his wife Josephine purchased the estate, launching the family stewardship that continues today across four generations.

• Estate documented on Belleyme's map in 1745 under the name 'Sertan'; château building dates to approximately 1770
• Originally the region's leading property; ceded primacy to Pétrus around 1875 as the latter's reputation grew rapidly
• Post-Revolution subdivision created Certan de May and other 'Certan' estates from the original larger domaine

The Thienpont family are Flemish wine merchants based at their ancestral manor Hof te Cattebeke in Etikhove, Belgium, active in the wine trade since 1842. Georges Thienpont also owned Château Troplong Mondot in Saint-Émilion, which he was forced to sell during the Depression, but he held onto VCC through difficult decades including World War II and the Great Frost of 1956. After Georges died in 1962 his son Léon managed the estate, overseeing a complete vineyard renovation after the 1956 frost and installing large oak fermentation vats in 1972. Upon Léon's death in 1985, his son Alexandre took over and moved into the château, implementing green harvesting, eliminating chaptalization, and introducing a second wine. In 2011 Alexandre's son Guillaume officially joined as co-winemaker, bringing formal training in agricultural engineering and enology from Bordeaux University and experience at Ornellaia, Château Margaux, and Domaine Jean Grivot.

• Four generations of Thienpont winemakers: Georges (1924-1962), Léon (1962-1985), Alexandre (1985-present), and Guillaume (2011-present)
• Cousin Jacques Thienpont created the cult estate Château Le Pin in 1979 from a different branch of the family
• In 2024 the family celebrated the 100th anniversary of Thienpont ownership with a vertical tasting of 58 vintages in Etikhove

The 14-hectare vineyard sits at the highest point of the Pomerol plateau in a single unbroken block divided into 23 individually managed parcels. The terroir is a mixture of gravel, clay, and sand underlain by a high concentration of 'crasse de fer,' the iron-oxide deposits that are a hallmark of Pomerol's central plateau. Grape variety follows soil type precisely: Merlot occupies the deepest clay sections (70% of plantings), Cabernet Franc grows in the clay-gravel zones (25%), and Cabernet Sauvignon is reserved for the most gravelly plots (5%). This variety of soils within a single vineyard is what makes VCC's unusually high Cabernet proportion both possible and distinctive. Vine age averages over 50 years across the property; the oldest Merlot vines date to 1932 and a section of Cabernet to 1948.

• Three soil zones in one block: deep clay for Merlot, clay-gravel for Cabernet Franc, gravel for Cabernet Sauvignon
• Crasse de fer (iron-oxide subsoil) on the Pomerol plateau imparts the mineral structure and tension that defines the VCC style
• Oldest Merlot vines planted 1932; average vine age over 50 years provides natural concentration without forced extraction

Alexandre Thienpont's philosophy can be summarised in his own words: he wants the wine to accomplish itself without exogenous intervention. Vineyard management is 100% sustainable, with strict pruning to six buds per vine, green harvesting, leaf stripping, and no herbicides or copper. A team of 40 local pickers harvests by hand, typically in mid-to-late September. In the cellar, grapes are sorted, destemmed, and lightly crushed before fermentation in closed-top oak vats at 28°C for about three weeks. Grand Vin lots are then aged for 18 months in 100% new French oak barrels. The wine is fined gently with egg whites and never filtered. Guillaume has added a wine laboratory to understand parcel-by-parcel differences with greater precision, enabling more nuanced blending decisions each vintage.

• Fermentation in closed-top French oak vats at 28°C; maceration approximately three weeks for gentle colour and tannin extraction
• 18 months in 100% new French oak; egg-white fining only, no filtration, preserving natural texture and aromatic complexity
• Blend proportions vary each vintage to reflect conditions: warmer years often see higher Cabernet Franc; no fixed recipe

The 1947 and 1948 VCCs are legendary benchmarks, regarded as among the finest wines ever produced in Pomerol. The 1982 re-established the estate's modern reputation. In the current era, VCC has achieved a remarkable run of critical acclaim: the 2009 and 2010 received scores of 99 and 100 respectively from Robert Parker; the 2016 and 2019 also earned Parker 100-point ratings; and the 2022 received 100 points from three separate critics at Vinous and Jeb Dunnuck. The 2020, harvested at a yield of just 30 hl/ha, drew 100 points from Neal Martin. This sustained excellence across diverse vintages, from the cool 2014 to the warm 2020, confirms both the site's quality and the Thienponts' consistency.

• Parker 100 points: 2010, 2016, 2019; Parker 99 points: 2009, 1945; estate has received perfect scores from multiple critics across multiple decades
• 2022: 100 points from Antonio Galloni (Vinous), Neal Martin (Vinous), and Jeb Dunnuck; 98 points from William Kelley (Wine Advocate)
• 2020: harvested at 30 hl/ha, a blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, awarded 100 points by Neal Martin at Vinous

VCC's style is defined by elegance and transparency rather than opulence, distinguished from richer Pomerol neighbours by the Cabernet Franc component, which provides aromatic lift, graphite minerality, and structural tension. Young wines show dark fruit, violet florality, and fine-grained tannins; with age they develop tobacco, truffle, forest floor, and dried herb complexity while retaining freshness. Pomerol has no official classification, so VCC occupies a unique market position: unclassified yet commanding prices in the $250-450 range for recent releases. Wine-Searcher average prices in 2026 range from approximately $158 for the 2024 to over $450 for the highly sought 2020. The iconic pink capsule, introduced by Georges Thienpont after 1924, remains a recognisable identifier of authentic bottles.

• Style hallmark: Cabernet Franc component (up to 30% in some vintages) provides freshness, minerality, and aromatic complexity absent in pure-Merlot Pomerols
• Current market pricing: 2024 around $158-168; 2022 around $409-413; 2020 around $415-450, reflecting strong collector demand
• Pink capsule introduced by Georges Thienpont after 1924 purchase; an iconic identifier of VCC bottles in any cellar or auction