Chateau Gazin, Pomerol

Description

Chateau Gazin is located on Bordeaux’s Right Bank on the edge of the Pomerol plateau between Chateau Petrus and the Lalande de Pomerol appellation.

The modern era of Chateau Gazin can be traced to 1918 when the estate was purchased by Louis Soualle, of Bailliencourt dit Courcol family whose descendents, the fifth generation, Nicolas, Christophe, Laure et Inès de Bailliencourt dit Courcol, with Mickaël Obert as winemaker, own the Chateau today.

The estate consists of a single holding of 26 hectares on the upper terrace of the Pomerol terroir. The terroir at Chateau Gazin consists of Gunzian gravel on the surface and a subsoil of blue and green clay with iron oxides (iron residues). The vineyards are planted with 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc. The average age of the vines is 35 years and the vines are planted with a density of 5,500 to 7,000 per hectare. The vines are cultivated using traditional growing methods and an environmentally-friendly approach with ploughing, organic fertilizers, minimum use of pesticides (including mating disruption), and manual harvests.

The harvest at Chateau Gazin is by hand, as each plot reaches perfect ripeness. The grapes undergo an initial sorting in the vineyard, carried out by the pickers. Two further sorting stages take place in the vat room, before and after removal of the stalks, to optimize the quality of the fruit. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in small concrete vats, with each grape variety and plot vinified individually. The juice and skins are left to macerate for two to three weeks. The wine is then allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation. The wine is aged in French oak barrels (50% of which are new) for 18 months and the wines are progressively blended.

Chateau Gazin 2008 is a blend of 92% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Cabernet Franc. The wine typically offers hints of plum, chocolate, coffee or liquorice, with aromas of almonds, toast, tobacco and vanilla, and a minty freshness. With maturity they develop a spicy nose, with a hint of truffles, notes of undergrowth, game, fur and leather