Winemaker Notes
Feminine, charming, because of the dominance of Merlot, the wines of Gazin Castle are pleasantly tasted after a few years of aging, but they most often deserve to wait fifteen, twenty years or more.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is really fresh and refined with so much class for the vintage with blackberries, blueberries, violets and minerals. Some coffee beans. Medium- to full-bodied, this has ultrafine tannins and a long and persistent finish.
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Decanter
Supple and energetic, this has a lovely dynamism and purity straight away, clean and clear, tangy but tannic so you get brightness and power. It's on the more tannic side right now, filling and upfront, but they have a nice texture and weight and the fruit intensity really carries the liveliness all the way through - picked just ripe, or just before, I think. Nicely accessible and a softer more approachable style from Gazin. A little atypical and the better for it. A yield of 26hl/ha. Tasted twice.
Barrel Sample: 94 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Notes of dark berries, cherries, cassis and mulberries preface the 2022 du Gazin, a medium to full-bodied, juicy and round wine with good depth at the core enhanced by velvety tannins and an ethereal, tense and fresh finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Based on 94% Merlot and 3% each Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2022 Château Gazin is a serious, layered Pomerol with ripe black cherries, blue fruits, spice, and hints of chocolate-laced oak and loamy earth. Medium to full-bodied, it has a round, supple texture, beautifully integrated tannins, and terrific overall balance.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
A source of exceptionally sensual and glamorous red wines, Pomerol is actually a rather small appellation in an unassuming countryside. It sits on a plateau immediately northeast of the city of Libourne on the right bank of the Dordogne River. Pomerol and St-Émilion are the stars of what is referred to as Right Bank Bordeaux: Merlot-dominant red blends completed by various amounts of Cabernet Franc or Cabernet Sauvignon. While Pomerol has no official classification system, its best wines are some of the world’s most sought after.
Historically Pomerol attached itself to the larger and more picturesque neighboring region of St-Émilion until the late 1800s when discerning French consumers began to recognize the quality and distinction of Pomerol on its own. Its popularity spread to northern Europe in the early 1900s.
After some notable vintages of the 1940s, the Pomerol producer, Petrus, began to achieve great international attention and brought widespread recognition to the appellation. Its subsequent distribution by the successful Libourne merchant, Jean-Pierre Mouiex, magnified Pomerol's fame after the Second World War.
Perfect for Merlot, the soils of Pomerol—clay on top of well-drained subsoil—help to create wines capable of displaying an unprecedented concentration of color and flavor.
The best Pomerol wines will be intensely hued, with qualities of fresh wild berries, dried fig or concentrated black plum preserves. Aromas may be of forest floor, sifted cocoa powder, anise, exotic spice or toasted sugar and will have a silky, smooth but intense texture.