Château Certan De May De Certan
Château L'Eglise-Clinet
Pomerol Red Bordeaux Blend 2014
The 2014 L’Eglise-Clinet has a gentle, understated bouquet at first that takes time to open, eventually offering black fruit, melted tar, truffle and bay leaf aromas. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin, rather masculine and thickset at the moment, lightly spiced towards the finish. Much like the Vieux-Château-Certan, this is a little awkward in a blind setting however, it clearly meliorates in the glass and I keep on having to up my score. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, March 2018) — 7 years ago
Château Certan De May De Certan
Pomerol Red Bordeaux Blend 1975
Still pretty alive, albeit more into tertiary notes with some fruit still evident, at 47 years old. — 3 months ago
Château Certan
Pomerol Red Bordeaux Blend
A beautiful wine that had plenty of life, color, and complexity in the glass. Quite amazing! — 2 years ago
Château Hosanna
Pomerol Red Bordeaux Blend 2017
The 2017 Hosanna was one of my favourite crus from Ets J-P Moueix from barrel. Now in bottle, it remains a delightful Pomerol. It has a generous and beautifully defined bouquet with ample red cherry, crushed strawberry and light black truffle aromas that are actually reminiscent of Bélair-Monange. The palate is medium-bodied but denser, thicker than its peers. There is real substance to this Hosanna that puts the relatively lightweight Certan-de-May in its place. It shows good grip with a saline finish. This is a deeply impressive Hosanna. Rejoice! (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2020)
— 6 years ago
Château Le Bon Pasteur
Pomerol Red Bordeaux Blend 2019
The 2019 Bon Pasteur has more fruit concentration than either the Gravette de Certan and La Fleur de Gay tasted alongside - blackberry and wild strawberry, truffle and a touch of smoke. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, fine acidity, firm backbone yet with plenty of freshness on its sappy finish. A fine Pomerol. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. (Neal Martin, Vinous, February 2023) — 2 years ago
Her Mir Tage
Is the Parker 99-point 2009 VCC Worth Its Price?
From a scoring perspective, you might feel slightly disappointed upon opening it, but in terms of price, it likely aligns with expectations.
Having previously tasted a Parker 95-100-point Côte-Rôtie La Landonne, I found its complexity and aromatic depth more impressive than this wine—though the 99-point VCC is the highest score this estate has ever received from Parker.
After 30 minutes of decanting:
The wine showed dark fruit aromas (blackberry), along with primary, secondary, and tertiary notes—cigar box, leather, and truffle-but the tannins were still tight, indicating it wasn’t fully open.
After 2 hours of decanting:
The wine began to unfold, not with explosive aromas but with a refined, lingering profile.Beyond the initial notes, ripe plum, vanilla, and graphite emerged. However, compared to an older vintage of VCC I’ve tried (which had a rich dark chocolate character), this bottle lacked that particular depth.
The tannins turned silky and smooth, making it very approachable, while a savory umami note complemented the medium acidity. The body was beautifully clean and well-structured. — 19 days ago