Vieux Château Certan

Vieux Château Certan is among the oldest known growths in Pomerol. It was founded at the beginning of the 16th century, when the Demay family arrived from Scotland and settled there. The property appears on Belleyme's 1785 map under the name 'Sertan,' and the Certan place-name used elsewhere in Pomerol was taken from the estate. Charles de Bousquet became the owner in 1858 and built the château buildings that stand today. In 1924 Georges Thienpont, a Flemish wine merchant, bought the property. 'In 1924, my grandfather Georges Thienpont, purchased Vieux Château Certan,' in the words of his grandson Alexandre Thienpont.

• Founded in the early 16th century by the Demay family, who came from Scotland
• Recorded on Belleyme's 1785 map under the name 'Sertan'
• Charles de Bousquet, owner from 1858, built the château buildings that stand today
• Georges Thienpont's 1924 purchase began continuous Thienpont family ownership

The 1924 purchase was made with the money of Georges Thienpont's wife. In Fiona Morrison's account of the family history: 'In 1924, Josephine Billiet asked her husband Georges Thienpont if she could use her own money to purchase the beautiful estate of Vieux Château Certan.' Georges had bought Château Troplong Mondot in 1921, but the Wall Street crash and the Great Depression of the 1930s forced him to sell it. He kept Vieux Château Certan and made wine there through the Second World War and the Great Frost of 1956. On his death in 1962 his son Léon, who held an agricultural degree, took over the running of the château. Léon's son Alexandre has made the wine since 1986, and Alexandre's son Guillaume has been co-winemaker since 2012. Jacques Thienpont, a cousin from another branch of the family, became owner of the small Pomerol estate Le Pin in 1979. In 2024 the family marked the centenary of the purchase with a two-day vertical tasting for 14 attendees that included the 1923 vintage, held at Hof te Cattebeke in the Flemish village of Etikhove, the base of the family's wine merchant business since 1842.

• Georges Thienpont (1924-1962), then his son Léon, then Léon's son Alexandre (winemaker since 1986), then Alexandre's son Guillaume (co-winemaker since 2012)
• Georges owned Château Troplong Mondot from 1921 until the Wall Street crash and the Depression forced its sale
• Cousin Jacques Thienpont, of another branch of the family, became owner of Le Pin in Pomerol in 1979
• The 2024 centenary vertical in Etikhove, which included the 1923 vintage, brought together Aldo Fiordelli (James Suckling), Neal Martin (Vinous), Jancis Robinson, and writers from La Revue du Vin de France and Bettane & Desseauve

The vineyard covers 14 hectares (35 acres) in a single unbroken block on the Pomerol plateau, divided into 23 individually managed plots. The soils vary subtly: a clayey portion is planted mainly with Merlot (70%), a clay-gravel portion with Cabernet Franc (25%), and a very gravelly portion with Cabernet Sauvignon (5%). Average vine age across the property is 50 years. The estate calls itself 'the result of a very special eco-system in which the soil, the vines and the climate blend harmoniously together to produce exceptional wine.' Alexandre Thienpont attributes part of the wine's character to iron in the clay subsoils, which reduces vine vigor, and to the clay's moisture retention, which slows ripening of the early-maturing Merlot.

• 23 individually managed plots within one contiguous 14-hectare (35-acre) block
• Merlot on the clayiest ground, Cabernet Franc on clay-gravel, Cabernet Sauvignon on the most gravelly plots
• Average vine age across the vineyard is 50 years
• Pomerol's subsoils are rich in iron oxide, known locally as 'crasse de fer'

Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled oak vats regulated at 28°C for a gentle, measured extraction. Cellar materials and equipment were chosen with care to give the best possible conditions for both the wine and the environment. Alexandre Thienpont sets out a minimal-intervention philosophy: 'It’s my conviction that the best wines are those that are the most natural ones –wines that are subject to as little technical intervention as possible. They should be the most genuine and faithful expression of what nature has given us.' Of his own role he adds: 'Following on from my father, and now aided by Guillaume, my son, I have perpetuated the family line, exercising my highest standards of work in the service of a wine, the style of which delights connoisseurs all over the world.'

• Fermentation in oak vats regulated at 28°C
• Alexandre Thienpont's approach: as little technical intervention as possible
• 'The wines of Vieux Château Certan have their own character ; they have their own story to tell -not ours,' Alexandre Thienpont says

Vieux Château Certan makes two wines. The First Wine, Vieux Château Certan, is blended each year from the estate's best lots, drawn mainly from the oldest vines; it needs a few years of cellaring and can be enjoyed after 10 to 15 years of age. The Second Wine, La Gravette de Certan, comes from younger vines and is made after the blending tastings for the First Wine; the estate presents it as offering 'a more accessible character in its youth,' a wine 'with very fine precision that faithfully mirrors the pedigree of the vineyard.' Alongside Merlot, the estate's wines contain what it calls an 'exceptionally high proportion of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon' for Pomerol. Alexandre Thienpont credits Cabernet Franc with bringing 'unequalled finesse, elegance and pedigree' to the blend.

• First Wine: Vieux Château Certan, blended from the estate's best lots each vintage, mainly from the oldest vines
• Second Wine: La Gravette de Certan, from younger vines, made after the First Wine blend is set
• The First Wine can be enjoyed after 10 to 15 years of age
• The blend varies by vintage: the 2020 is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, at 14.50% alcohol

James Suckling scored the 2009 vintage 100 points, writing that Vieux Château Certan 'now is making as good or better wines' than its 1940s and 1950s vintages and calling the wine 'always racy and complex... never a blockbuster,' one that impresses 'with its combination of strength and finesse.' Pomerol has never attempted an official classification of its wines, unlike neighboring Saint-Émilion; the hierarchy among its estates is inferred from the reputation and price of the appellation's leading wines.

• James Suckling: 100 points, 2009 vintage
• Pomerol has no official classification; its hierarchy is informal, set by reputation and price
• Pomerol's subsoil is rich in iron oxide, known locally as 'crasse de fer' (ironpan), which Bordeaux.com calls 'the key to Pomerol’s distinctive character'

Primary sources (producer's own site, fetched as raw page text via curl and tag-stripping, not a summarizing tool): http://www.vieuxchateaucertan.com/en/home.html, .../the-estate-vieux-chateau-certan.html, .../the-vineyard-pomerol-vieux-chateau-certan.html, .../the-cellars-vieux-chateau-certan.html, .../the-method-vieux-chateau-certan.html, .../great-wines-pomerol.html, .../great-wines-pomerol/vieux-chateau-certan.html, .../great-wines-pomerol/la-gravette-de-certan.html, .../vintages-vieux-chateau-certan.html, .../contact-vieux-chateau-certan.html. Secondary sources (also fetched as raw page text): Decanter (2020 vintage data page), The Drinks Business (Colin Hay, 'Vieux Château Certan celebrates with unique tasting,' 6 August 2024), JamesSuckling.com ('100 Points for Vieux Château Certan' and 'Vieux Chateau Certan Vertical Tasting: A Century of Power and Grace'), and Bordeaux.com (the Bordeaux wine region site's Pomerol appellation guide). Last verified 2026-10-12. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs; see conflicts.json for the 1923-versus-1924 purchase-year discrepancy and the Cabernet Franc percentage discrepancy.