- Vieux Château Certan 2023 has been released at £2,220 per 12×75.
- ‘Gloriously old school, full of hidden depths and pleasures’, said Jane Anson, who awarded a score of 96 points.
- Buyers looking for value might want to consider the 2019, 2018 and 2014 vintages.
As part of this year’s Bordeaux En Primeur campaign, Vieux Chateau Certan 2023 has been released at €186 per bottle ex-négociant, down 32.6% on the 2022 release (€276).
It is being offered by the international trade for £2,220 per 12×75, down 33.3% on the 2022’s opening price (£3,300 per 12×75).
See more pricing analysis below.
Critical response
According to William Kelley (The Wine Advocate), ‘the 2023 Vieux Château Certan bursts from the glass with demonstrative aromas of dark berries, pencil shavings, violets mingled with notions of burning embers, iris, crushed mint and black tea’. He awarded the wine a score of 94-96 points.
Jane Anson, describing the wine as ‘gloriously old school, full of hidden depths and pleasures’, scored it 96 points.
‘It has a well-defined bouquet, a little sultry at first: black cherry, iodine, violet flower and a touch of crushed stone’, said Neal Martin (Vinous), who awarded a score of 94-96 points.
James Lawther MW (Jancis Robinson) awarded the wine a score of 17.5/20 points. While commenting that the 2023 does not have ‘the overt power of the 2022’, he adds that it is ‘structured and ageworthy all the same’.
Antonio Galloni (Vinous) was effusive in his praise of the wine, describing it as ‘nothing short of breathtaking’. He awarded a barrel score of 96-98 points.
‘This is pure latent power’, said Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW (The Wine Independent), who awarded the wine a score of 97-99 points.
Pricing analysis
According to the Liv-ex Fair Value methodology, Market Prices of Vieux Château Certan are 80.7% correlated with scores from Neal Martin, Liv-ex members’ most influential critic of Bordeaux En Primeur wines. As shown in the chart below, today’s release falls above the Fair Value regression line. Buyers looking for value opportunities have options in back vintages.
The 2014, 2018 and 2019 vintages fall below the trend line and represent Fair Value.
While coming in at a slight premium to today’s release, the 2019 vintage may be a compelling option for buyers. The wine boasts a 99-point score from Neal Martin, his joint-highest of the past decade, and a perfect 100-point score from William Kelley.
The 96-point 2018 vintage is available at a 9.1% discount to today’s release and may be of interest to buyers. Jane Anson awarded the wine 98 points, her joint-highest score of the past decade.
The lower scored 2014 (95 points from Martin) currently has a Market Price of £1,500 per 12×75 and is entering it’s drinking window.
Use our ready-made list to easily spot opportunities in back-vintages of Vieux Château Certan and other Right-Bank wines.
Our Bordeaux En Primeur 2023 page contains everything you need to know about this year’s campaign. You can also sign up for our daily En Primeur email alerts using the form below.
Liv-ex analysis is drawn from the world’s most comprehensive database of fine wine prices. The data reflects the real time activity of Liv-ex’s 620+ merchant members from across the globe. Together they represent the largest pool of liquidity in the world – currently £100m of bids and offers across 20,000 wines.
