Château Certan de May

The château

Certan de May lies on the central plateau of Pomerol, near Vieux Château Certan and La Fleur-Pétrus. The de May family held it from the 16th to the 18th century, and their descendants, the de May de Certan, until 1925. Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, printed it from 1868 as Petit Certan, under the demoiselles de May de Certan, among the first growths of Pomerol, at 6 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels); their supplement of 1901 gave the name as Château-Certan, and in 1908 it made 10 tonneaux. The Barreau family has owned it since 1925, and Jean-Luc Barreau runs it. Michel Rolland consulted until 2012, and Jean-Claude Berrouet has advised from the 2013 vintage.

The vineyard is 5.5 hectares on clay and deep gravel, planted 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, with vines 35 years old on average. The grapes are picked by hand and fermented in temperature-controlled vats, and the wine ages 16 to 20 months in oak, 80% of it new. Établissements Jean-Pierre Moueix sell it under an exclusivity.

At a glance

Appellation

Pomerol

Commune

Pomerol, on the central plateau

Classification

No classification

Owners

The Barreau family, since 1925

Direction

Jean-Luc Barreau

Consultants

Jean-Claude Berrouet, from the 2013 vintage; Michel Rolland until 2012

Vineyard

5.5 hectares; vines 35 years old on average

Soil

Clay and deep gravel Terroir of Pomerol →

Grapes

Merlot 70%, Cabernet Franc 25%, Cabernet Sauvignon 5%

Cellar

Picked by hand; temperature-controlled vats; 16 to 20 months in oak, 80% new

Sold by

Établissements Jean-Pierre Moueix, under an exclusivity

In history

Petit Certan, a first growth of Pomerol, from 1868