Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The subtle tension to this classic wine is impressive. Aromas of blueberries, minerals and hints of hazelnuts and bark. A medium-bodied palate with fine tannins and a caressing and polished texture. 88% merlot, 7% cabernet franc and 5% cabernet sauvignon.
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Decanter
Vivid fruit aromas of strawberry jam, blackberry and plum. The palate shows rather smooth tannin, with plenty of wet stone minerality and tonicity, without any notion of hard or drying tannins. Indeed, this is textbook example of mainly Merlots finding their place in deep clay that kept things fresh during the heatwave. Excellent palate depth! Bordering on a 95-point score, which may happen after barrel ageing broadens the palate even more.
Barrel Sample: 94 -
Jeb Dunnuck
A gorgeous, round, supple Pomerol that has tons to love, the 2023 Château Gazin offers spicy wood, sappy flowers, and ripe red and black fruits on the nose. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has a pure, graceful, layered, very complete mouthfeel, ripe and polished tannins, juicy acidity, and a great finish. This sexy little gem will shine for two decades. Give it a few years if you can.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Château Gazin defines elegance with the 2023 vintage, remaining perfectly balanced while offering a generous core of black fruits framed by polished oak and beguiling layers of warm spice. Its poise and depth make it an inspired match for Vietnamese th?t nu?ng s? m?t ong—charcoal-grilled pork marinated in lemongrass, garlic, shallot, fish sauce, palm sugar, and a touch of five-spice, finished with fresh red chilies and herbs. The savory-sweet glaze and aromatic complexity of the dish echo the wine’s spice and fruit while allowing its refined structure to shine. (Tasted: January 22, 2026, San Francisco, CA)
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A blend of 89% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2023 Gazin has evolved positively since the en primeur tastings, revealing a more expressive and approachable bouquet than initially anticipated, with aromas of dark berries, rose, cassis and dark cherries. Medium- to full-bodied, round and layered, it is built around a fleshy core of fruit framed by powdery tannins, concluding with a long, ethereal finish. Quite dense and well structured, it has the substance to reward extended cellaring.
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Vinous
The 2023 Gazin is deep, layered and exceptionally well-balanced. All the elements are in the right place. Dark red/purplish fruit, spice, leather, tobacco and dried herbs all meld together in a seamless, super-expressive Pomerol that hints at a very bright future. This is a fine follow up to the 2022. –Antonio Galloni
Barrel Sample: 91-93
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.