2022 Château Gazin
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Tasting notes
The 2022 Gazin has a primal, youthful bouquet with black plum, blackcurrant pastilles and touches of wild mint. Good lift. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins, fleshy, but there is still backbone and structure here. Lightly spiced with a grippy finish, it coheres in pleasing fashion. Good potential but one for the patient. Tasted blind at the Southwold tasting in London.
Critic scores
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
An estate that often seems to disappoint relative to its potential, the 2022 Gazin isn't showing as well in bottle as it did en primeur. Offering up aromas of sweet dark berries, pencil lead and licorice, the palate is medium to full-bodied, muscular and aggressive, concluding with a drying, excessively tannic finish. If wine is a beverage of pleasure, this is one for masochists.
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. Easily ranking with the 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2020, this fabulous Pomerol can be drunk with incredible pleasure any time over the coming two decades. Tasted twice with consistent notes.
The 2022 Gazin has improved a little on the nose since I tasted it from barrel, featuring blackberry, wild hedgerow and light truffle scents gaining precision as it opens in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied and nicely balanced with firm tannins and a crisp, rather conservative finish. This is not a bad Pomerol by any means, but I have a nagging feeling that this could have been better—and I write that reluctantly as a fan of this estate.
About the producer
Representing a single block of vines on the plateau, Ch. Gazin is one of Pomerol’s largest estates, owned by the Bailliencourt dit Courcol family since the early 20th century.