Just Tasted: Flight of Vieux Château Certan

I recently had the opportunity to taste a flight of wines from Château Vieux Château Certan, namely the 1990, 1998, 2000 and 2001 vintages. Please find those notes below.

Vieux Château Certan, Pomerol 2001  
This showed really well, very elegant and refined, perhaps the least substantial of the set, but it will age well, very classy, silky in style. Wonderfully pure - notes of cedary red berry, damson, a little sous bois, leafiness and a linear, mineral vein that courses across the palate.                

Vieux Château Certan, Pomerol 2000
A more substantial vintage, denser, and a little unyielding, packed with fruit, undoubtedly a strong vintage, but yet to hit its stride. Much darker berry fruit, black fruits, touch of liquorice. A more broad-shouldered style - wait four to five years before broaching.                                                         

Vieux Château Certan, Pomerol 1998 
This showed so well, certainly drinking well now, a wine with the highest Merlot content of the four vintages and it shows with a rich yet accessible fruit - notes of cedar, almost tobacco allied to sweet ripe stone fruit characters. No Cabernet Franc either in the 1998 and therefore the impression is plumper, less racy than those vintages that showcase CF. Complex, evolving and already delicious. This could be broached now or kept for a decade or two. A great showing.                  

Vieux Château Certan, Pomerol 1990
Not the best bottle? Tough to judge. It seemed quite evolved, not tired - plenty of cedar, sous bois - almost a little savoury/ balsamic. Clearly a low acid style from a vintage where ripeness was easily won. The palate was sleek and graceful though it did seem to lack a little fruit expression. There was a marked note of freshness, slightly herbal, almost menthol like. I would be interested in tasting another bottle to see if this was off form or not.