Chateau de May de Certan 1992

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 Château Certan de May

There is an almost infinite fascination when trying a wine blind. 

The brain starts rotating quite fast, trying to find equivalents to wines that we have tried before, to specific grapes, similar aging development and, not the least, a brief analysis of the person who has brought the wine. 

The same way that my friends often suspect that I offer them Portuguese wines, in this case I first assumed that I would have a Bordeaux in glass.

But as I have first felt it, I directly tended to an aged Pinot as it was aromatically pretty delicate revealing some earthiness along with fine vanishing cherries.

As my friend smiled and said it was no Pinot, I needed a complete mental reset as I was almost sure I was right. 

After rethinking the wine again from scratch I tended to Rhone as it seemed to me to have some leathery notes which time have made softer. 

Wrong again. 

I have to confess that it was quite a long time since I last felt I had no idea what could be in my glass. 

Completely lost in a desert of ideas I begged for the bottle to be revealed.

When I have seen it I soon regretted not having trusted my emotional intelligence and tipped Bordeaux. But even when, I could not really locate it. 

Being a estate in Pomerol, this is a cuvée dominated by Merlot, having 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.  But as I have written before, the wine presented itself high into tertiary flavours and it was really hard to identify the primary ones.

If I liked it?

I did. A lot. Fine, elegant with an exquisite elegance that reveals a great wine already on its descending phase. But still great. And that is a lot.

 

17/20

Country: France
Region: Bordeaux
Grapes: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon
Winemaker: Michel Rolland
12,5%
Link: https://www.moueix.com/en/pomerol/chateau-certan-de-may 

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