Chateau La Gaffeliere 2016
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Winemaker Notes
Château La Gaffelière is situated next to the village of SaintÉmilion and produces two wines: Château La Gaffelière St. Émilion 1er Grand Cru Classé and Clos la Gaffelière St. Emilion Grand Cru. With vines planted on south-facing limestone and clay-rich hillsides, Château La Gaffelière wines are complex and built for long aging. A blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc, they are powerful, supple, and elegant wines. The Merlot is planted at the foot of the slopes in sand and gravel to give freshness and elegance, while the Cabernet Franc offers floral notes. Clos la Gaffelière is selected from the estate’s youngest vines, which are planted in more siliceous soil at foot of the slope and offers marked bursts of fruit and immediacy on the palate.
Critical Acclaim
All VintagesEditors' Choice
This was delicious En Primeur and is even better now with three years under its belt. It's had time to bed down and is fully set for the long term. Wonderfully rich, intense dark fruits are joined by grip and supple tannins through the palate. It has hints of dark chocolate, and a floral edge from the Cabernet Franc. Be in no rush to open this, because it's clearly going to deliver over the next few decades. As of this vintage, we are seeing the blend that the estate hopes to maintain (60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc). Drinking Window 2025 - 2044
Rating: 95+
A little riper in tone on the nose than is the norm for St.-Émilion in 2016 and showing a slightly roasted warmth to its aromas of black plums, dark cherries and berries and colored with shadings of sweet soil and dried flowers that extend into its rich, Merlot-centric flavors, this vividly fruity wine is insistently ripe yet never threatens to stray into excess. It is just beginning to show the complexity inherent in top-tier Bordeaux, and, if sure to reward an additional five years of cellaring, the smarter choice would be waiting for ten.
Having settled in Saint-Émilion in 1705, the Malet Roquefort family of Domaines Comte de Malet Roquefort has a history in Bordeaux spanning more than three centuries. A record of vines being planted on this land in Gallo-Roman times shows an even longer history of viticulture, and was confirmed in 1969 by Comte Léo de Malet Roquefort who discovered ruins of the Gallo-Roman Villa du Palat with mosaics depicting vines plantings. Château La Gaffelière, which gained status in 1954 as a Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé, is the original estate of the Malet Roquefort family. In 2001, the family united three estates, Château La Gaffelière, Château Chapelle d’Aliénor, and Château Armens, under a single brand: Domaines Comte de Malet Roquefort. Later, in 2008 Château La Connivence also joined the Domaines.
Today, the Domaines Comte de Malet Roquefort estates include: Château La Gaffelière, Château Chapelle d’Aliénor, Château Armens, and Château La Connivence. Founded on the four guiding principles of excellence, elegance, authenticity, and independence, the Malet Roqueforts have passed on their traditions, generation after generation, and today Alexandre de Malet Roquefort is at the helm of Domaines Comte de Malet Roquefort. Like his ancestors, he shares a passion for wine and for the Saint-Émilion terroir which they call home.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.