Château Gaffelière 2019

The vineyard
The Château La Gaffelière vineyard covers 38 hectares, including 22 classified Premier Grand Cru Classé. This vineyard is located in 3 different areas. Here we find the famous limestone plateau, an outcropping of clayey “Molasses from Fronsadais” soil and deep carbonate sand. The Château La Gaffelière vineyard is cultivated with sustainable agriculture with minimal intervention.

The vintage
The mild winter led to bud-burst in late March. Flowering took place under great conditions and July was very hot. A thunderstorm alleviated the vines of water stress, allowing them to resist the heat throughout the summer and deliver grapes at the perfect stage of ripeness in time for the harvest.

The winemaking
Manual harvest. Merlot from September 18 to October 8. Cabernet Franc from September 30 to October 11. After harvest, grapes were placed in a cold room for 12 hours. Optical sorting. Plot-by-plot vinification in thermo-regulated stainless steel tanks filled by means of gravity and without the use of sulphur. Alcoholic fermentation with pump-overs and punch-downs. Malolactic fermentation in vats (75%) and barrels (25%). Maceration for 30 days for Merlot and 32 days for Cabernet Franc.

The ageing
14 to 16 months of ageing in barrels, 60% of which are of new French oak. Racking “a l’esquive.”

Produced by Château La Gaffelière

Situated south of Saint-Emilion with its unique silhouette, Château La Gaffelière welcomes thousands of visitors. Chateau la Gaffeliere evokes a great wine, a 1st Great Growth since the beginning of St Emilion’s classification in 1959. The vine has been present on the lands of Château La Gaffelière since Gallo-Roman times, as demonstrated by the numerous mosaics discovered by Comte Léo de Malet Roquefort in 1969. A strange coincidence: Ausonius had a vineyard in the same spot (4th century). The Malet Roquefort family is convinced that these mosaics decorated the rooms of his villa. The quality of these decorative elements confirms the richness of this place, called “le Palat” (Palatium = Palace).
The wine comes from an exceptional terroir, a “golden triangle” nested between the hills of Pavie and Ausone.
But a great terroir is nothing without the willingness of men. The family de Malet Roquefort has run the estate with passion for more than 3 centuries, with a single purpose: upgrading the vineyards whilst producing an amazing ageing wine.

Learn more about Château La Gaffelière

Tasting Notes

The 2019 La Gaffeliere is composed of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, it spills from the glass with alluring notions of black raspberries, boysenberry preserves, Morello cherries, and roses, plus suggestions of Ceylon tea, dried mint, and crushed rocks. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is elegantly crafted and refreshing, bursting with bright, lively fruit, finishing long and achingly floral. This is an effortlessly gorgeous Saint-Emilion, not to be missed.

96+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, May 2022