2019 Chateau Gazin Pomerol

Managed by the Bailliencourt dit Courcol family since 1917, Château Gazin encompasses a 26-hectare contiguous vineyard on the upper terrace of the Pomerol plateau. The estate's 35-year-old vines—planted to 90% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Cabernet Franc—are cultivated in surface Günzian gravel over a subsoil of smectite (blue and green clays containing iron oxides), which ensures a highly stable water supply for the vines.

Following a manual harvest with rigorous triple sorting (once in the vineyard and twice in the vat room), the grapes undergo alcoholic fermentation in small, plot-by-plot concrete vats with a two-to-three-week maceration. The wine then matures for 18 months in oak barrels, typically 50% new, and is racked every three months. The hot, dry 2019 growing season yielded thorough ripening and excellent concentration, producing a medium-to-full-bodied Pomerol characterized by notes of dark cherry, truffle, and damp earth. Anchored by fine, well-integrated tannins and notable acidity, this vintage provides a structurally sound wine that can be approached now with brief decanting or laid down for long-term cellaring.