Chateau Gazin

Regardless of the truth behind the legend, much of Gazin’s brand has roots in its supposed connection to the Knights Templars, as a quick glance at the bottle’s label will indicate. Of course, the vines, while a respectable 30 years old, are not ancient, and it did take some years and much graft to elevate the estate to the position it enjoys today.

Chateau Gazin is Bordeaux wine producer, located on the right bank of the river Gironde in Pomerol. The wines are focused on Merlot which is sourced from the estate vineyard. The Grand Vin of Chateau Gazin is produced with 85 to 95-percent Merlot, depending on the vintage. The other varieties are usually Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. It is aged for 18 months in 50 percent new French oak barrels and reaches its prime after 10 to 15 years in the cellar. The second wine, L'Hospitalet de Gazin is homage to a Santiago de Compostela pilgrim hospital that orginally exsisted on the site. It's inaugural vintage was in 1986.

In the winery, fermentation of each wine occurs in small concrete vats. Grape varieties are vinified seperately and components are only blended together after the fermentation is complete. The 26-hectare (64-acre) vineyard is planted on one of the highest plateaus in the region. The vines, which are on average 35 years old, are planted on Gunizan gravel topsoils with the subsoil interspersed with iron oxide.
While more than 85 percent of the vineyards are planted to Merlot there are a few rows of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grown throughout the vineyard.

Perhaps Gazin’s wines are not the most highly-lauded in the region, and certainly not the most eye-watering when it comes to price, but they’re reliable, performing slowly but steadily on the investment landscape, and likely to improve further going forward. As critic Chris Kissack notes: “Gazin is today a must-know estate for fans of Pomerol, turning out exceptionally good wines, but without the grand or downright exorbitant prices that some leading right bank properties command.”