Vieux Château Certan: Vineyards
The vines of Vieux Château Certan lie not far from the eastern boundary of the appellation, close to the border with St Emilion. Indeed, provided you have your sequence of appointments and times correct, it is not impossible to first taste at Château Cheval Blanc in St Emilion before walking up to Château La Conseillante and/or Château L’Évangile, both of which lie directly on the boundary between the two appellations, before again walking across the vineyards to Vieux Château Certan. I have certainly done it once, although these days I tend to drive (the walk back to the car left at Château Cheval Blanc suddenly seems a very long one when you have a pressing engagement at Petrus starting in about two minutes time). The vineyards along this route are more clay than gravel, however, and so it might not be such a wise route to the château if there has been a recent downpour of rain.
As a consequence of this location, the vineyard has some very notable neighbours, not least Petrus which sits further along the Route de Lussac, the aforementioned Château La Conseillante and Château L’Évangile to the south, Château Petit Village to the west and of course Château Certan de May to the north, just across the road. Le Pin is also not too far away, an important consideration when we remember that Alexandre and Guillaume Thienpont look after the vineyard here, on behalf of his cousin Jacques, as well as tending the vines at Vieux Château Certan.
Please log in to continue reading: