The 2002 Vieux Château Certan, picked between September 20 and October 2, has never really been my favorite vintage from this period. Maybe I was a little mean in the past? It offers attractive brambly red fruit, damp loam, and a touch of wild mint. It is rustic and conservative in style yet charming. The palate is fresh on the entry with grainy tannins. Modest in depth, yet with aeration, a sense of brightness emanating from the Merlot begins to emerge, and it has a lovely graphite-tinged finish. This is perfect to drink now rather than cellar. Tasted at the VCC vertical in Etikhove, Belgium. Drink 2024-2036. 90 points