Chateau Gazin, Pomerol 2022

This is really fresh and refined with so much class for the vintage with blackberries, blueberries, violets and minerals. Some coffee beans. Medium- to full-bodied, this has ultrafine tannins and a long and persistent finish. Such balance and harmony for the vintage. Drink after 2030.

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 is bright, punchy and focused. Beams of tannin confer a feeling of classicism that is palpable throughout. Dark blue/purplish fruit, crushed rocks, slate, menthol and graphite are all beautifully delineated. Power and finesse come alive in this distinguished, mid-weight Pomerol.

Enjoyably brambled fruit on the nose, espresso and cocoa bean, well controlled, with supple tannins and plenty of raspberry and damson flavours, alongside firm tannic structure. 26hl/h yield, 50% new oak for ageing, 22ha vineyard, 37 year average age of vines.

Energy and purity straight away, this is streamlined and focussed with crisp strawberry, juicy cherry and cool blueberry fruit. I like the density and precision to the tannins - they give both a weight and sense of sculpting with a real sense of freshness all the way through. Spiced accents come in the form of liquorice and slate but this remains really quite charming and friendly with fruit purity.

This Pomerol, from close to the summit of the plateau, opens with a rather densely packaged nose, filled with dried red cherry, desiccated pomegranate, leather and tobacco, feeling perhaps a touch old-school in style. The palate feels firmly composed, with a rather upright core of dry and leather-infused fruit, suspended in a rather light and ethereal texture, all underpinned by a ripe bed of tannins which persist into the finish. Old-school is right;this melds traditional Pomerol aromatics and delicate flavours with a rich and confident core of dry tannic structure. It should develop fairly well, given time. Tasted twice.

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.

Unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark berries, licorice, cherries and spices, the 2022 Gazin is medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with excellent depth at the core, sweet tannins and a long, expansive finish. Despite the drought, the vineyards performed better in 2022 than in 2020 at this address, and the result is one of the better vintages for Gazin in recent years.