Château Certan De May, 2025
Château Certan De May, 2025
- 75cl
- 14%
- Red Still
- Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon
Please note, en primeur wines are not available for delivery until they arrive in the UK
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Est. delivery in 2028.
Château Certan de May sits on Pomerol's famous plateau, where the Baronne family has crafted wines of rare distinction since the 1930s. This tiny 5-hectare estate produces perhaps 2,000 cases annually from vines averaging 40 years, planted on the iron-rich clay that gives Pomerol its signature power wrapped in silk.
What the critics say:
"Dark ruby garnet, opaque core, violet reflections, subtle edge brightening. Floral touch of roses and violets, underlaid with ripe red heart cherries, inviting bouquet. Juicy, elegant, red berry texture, silky tannins, fresh and persistent, full of energy, mineral-salty finish, good ageing potential."
The vineyard sits on Pomerol's prized plateau, where a thin layer of gravel overlays the famous 'crasse de fer' - iron-rich clay mixed with sand that defines the appellation's greatest sites. This iron content gives the wines their distinctive mineral backbone and remarkable ageing potential. The plateau's elevation provides excellent drainage whilst the clay retains enough moisture to sustain the vines through dry summers, creating the perfect balance for Merlot to achieve both power and elegance.
Pomerol remains Bordeaux's smallest and most exclusive appellation, covering just 800 hectares on the Right Bank. Unlike the Médoc, there's no official classification here - reputation is everything. The appellation's iron-rich clay soils favour Merlot, which typically dominates the blends and creates wines of remarkable richness and longevity. Pomerol's wines mature earlier than their Left Bank counterparts but the best estates like Certan de May can age gracefully for decades, developing extraordinary complexity whilst retaining their signature velvety texture.
The 2025 Bordeaux vintage emerged from one of the most demanding growing seasons in recent memory — the earliest budbreak since 1989, June temperatures second only to 2003 since records began, and an unusually early harvest beginning in August for the whites. Conditions that should have produced heavy, overripe wines. They didn't. Decanter's Georgie Hindle, who tasted close to 200 wines ahead of the formal campaign, describes "exceptional concentration, aromatic purity and a freshness that contradicts the record-breaking heat.
The early critical consensus places 2025 stylistically between the precision of 2020 and the structure of 2016, with the brightness of 2023 — a combination that suggests a very serious vintage indeed. Yields are dramatically low, the smallest crop since 1991, with production across the Gironde running around 15% below the five-year average. The quality is here. There simply isn't very much of it.
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Château Certan De May
