A Detailed Look at Gazin: Tour and Tasting at a Historic Pomerol Estate

On our fourth day exploring the right bank of Bordeaux in October 2025, my wife Dio and I visited Château Gazin in Pomerol. Nicolas de Bailliencourt, the estate manager who has been with the property since 1984, led us through a comprehensive tour of the vineyards, chai, and barrel room, sharing stories about the estate's medieval origins with the Knights Hospitaller and the family's 108 years of ownership.

Nicolas recounted how in 1970, the family sold 4.5 hectares of Gazin's finest vines to neighboring Château Pétrus—increasing Pétrus from 7 to 11.5 hectares—joking that this is why Pétrus is so good, as 40% of Pétrus is now made from former Gazin vines. He noted the stark pricing reality: Pétrus sold their 2022 at 1,800 euros per bottle ex-winery while Gazin was 55 euros, and even that proved too expensive in the current market, forcing a 40% price reduction.

His co-proprietor sister Elise de Bailliencourt also joined us during the tasting. The visit concluded with two vintages of Gazin that demonstrated both the estate's tannic structure when young and its evolution with bottle age.

Stay tuned for a blog post with pictures and videos at heavypourwine.com.

• 2015 Château Gazin Pomerol 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  First visit to Château Gazin in Pomerol. Hosted by Nicolas and Elise de Bailliencourt. The estate produced 82,000 bottles in this vintage from a blend of 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc—no Cabernet Sauvignon was included as it wasn't considered good enough for the grand vin. Nicolas explained that while the wine shows 14.5% alcohol, Gazin doesn't seek high alcohol levels but rather balance, ensuring alcohol never dominates alongside the oak. Half the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in new oak barrels (with an unusual practice of leasing rather than purchasing barrels), while the other half ages in older barrels, with total aging lasting approximately 18 months using up to 49% new oak. PNP. Muted blue fruit nose. Very tannic and needs air. Elise served homemade cheese puffs with the wines.
  
  Brad - heavypourwine.com

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• 2010 Château Gazin Pomerol 94 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Pomerol

  First visit to Château Gazin in Pomerol. Hosted by Nicolas and Elise de Bailliencourt. The estate produced 78,400 bottles from a blend of 86% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4% Cabernet Franc, also at 14.5% alcohol. Nicolas noted that while the 2015 vintage might be considered better by some, the 2010 has superior structure and demonstrates how Gazin wines develop fatness, roundness, and mouth-coating intensity with age, though it takes time to reach this complexity. The tannins must be ripe from the beginning but become increasingly smooth with bottle age—Nicolas emphasized that good tannin integration is essential to Gazin's style. Decanted two hours. More open nose with a bit of funk and blue fruit aromatics. Still very tannic but fine. Red fruit on the palate. Much better with Elise's homemade cheese puffs. Layered and balanced.
  
  Brad - heavypourwine.com

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Our visit to Château Gazin provided fascinating insights into one of Pomerol's largest estates and its place among the appellation's most prestigious wines. The highlights were learning about the estate's medieval origins with the Knights Hospitaller, understanding Nicolas's approach to managing this historic property through challenging vintages, and experiencing how these structured, tannic wines evolve from tight youth into complex maturity—the 2010 demonstrating exactly what Nicolas seeks in aged Gazin.