Château Gazin: Vineyards
As I have already pointed out in my introduction, Château Gazin lies on the northern edge of the Pomerol appellation, close to the Barbanne. The key with any estate lying long this peripheral strip of land, right on the edge of the plateau, is knowing exactly where the vineyards are located, and how there are managed, in particular which are channelled into the all-important grand vin, and which are relegated to the second wine. Some châteaux here are successful because of judicious use of the second wine, an example being Château Le Gay, where plots above the château near the road are destined for the grand vin, while plots on the lower more sandy sections near the river are earmarked for the second wine. Other châteaux succeed by virtue of the location of their vines; Château La Fleur-Pétrus, for example, appears to be located as close to the Barbanne as any of its neighbours, but the vineyards come right up and cross over to the other side of the road, and are thus firmly on the plateau, and indeed they are directly contiguous with the vineyards of Petrus.
If Château Gazin were to be pigeon-holed into one of these two groups, it would be the latter. Despite the location of the château the vineyards come well onto the plateau; take a walk along the Chemin de Chantecaille and the Gazin vineyard markers are clearly placed not only on the Barbanne side of the road, but also on the plateau side. There are 26.5 hectares to the estate all told, with the area planted to vines amounting to 24 hectares, all present in a single block running up from the château. Of this vineyard approximately 17 hectares are positioned on the clay and gravel of the Pomerol plateau, the terroir renowned for being the source of the best wines of the appellation. Some of the vineyards on the plateau are blessed with the same clays that also run through the vineyards of Petrus, the other vines have their roots embedded in more gravelly or sandy soils closer to the château.
