We met on the 2nd of September at the home of one of Switzerland’s most prolific Bordeaux collectors to see how these two Châteaux compare to each other. As always Jean-Marc Quarin (link) led through the evening. The wines were served blind in flights of four. What connected them were two distinct features: The high percentage of Cabernets (Sauvignon and Franc) in their vineyard and their location bordering Château Cheval Blanc where the soil consists of a good portion of gravel next to the more common clay and limestone soils of the right bank.
Both Châteaux showed well. You can see the progress of Château Figeac in the recent vintages. In Vieux Château Certan we felt that in recent vintages they moved away from the fresh, restraint style towards a riper one, a trend that we did not appreciate that much. It gave us a bit of sadness, and we need to follow-up whether this trend persists. Finally, worth mentioning, once more the vintage 2005 showed badly on the right bank. The wines were too extracted and advanced, a flaw that I have already seen numerous times. I would therefore stay away from 2005 in the right bank as it is a too much extraction case at many Châteaux at the peak of the Parker era. The 2005 left bank did much better.
