Chateau La Gaffeliere is one of the oldest family-owned vineyards in the Saint-Emilion appellation of Bordeaux's Right Bank, having once been a Gallo-Roman villa named Le Palat.

It is said that sometime in the 17th Century, the estate was used as a leper colony, hence the name - not entirely sure why they've opted to keep the name.

Nevertheless, given the estate's proximity to some pretty incredible vineyards including Chateau Pavie, the estate was itself said to produce incredible wines for sometime in the 18th Century all the way to the 1960's, thanks to the Malet-Roquefort family that took over in the 17th Century and who also built the estate's Gothic-styled chateau. The family continues to own the estate till today, making it over three centuries of ownership. Nevertheless the past few decades have been alittle more rough for the estate, but we'll see for ourselves shortly.

The estate was also once known as La Gaffeliere Naudes, and would later split itself up with the other half today being known as Canon La Gaffeliere. The estate would eventually shorten their name to Ch. La Gaffeliere. The 38 hectare estate has a terroir of clay, limestone, chalk and sandy soils, and is planted with 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc.

Interestingly, La Gaffeliere had withdrew itself from the 2022 Saint Emilion classification just shortly before the results were announced, despite most spectators' belief that the estate would hold on to its fairly prestigious Premier Grand Cru Classe B ranking.

Today we'll be trying Ch. La Gaffeliere's second wine - the Clos La Gaffeliere. This second wine made its debut in 1985 and has its own vat rooms and cellars, with ageing done in 1-2 year old barrels. It's made mostly of Merlot (~90%), with the rest being Cabernet Franc that comes from the more clay heavy foothills of the estate.

Let's give it a go! Onward!

Clos La Gaffeliere (Chateau Gaffeliere) Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2019 - Review

Tasting Notes

Colour: Medium Ruby

Aroma: Mulberry and cassis concentrate, it’s dark and rich but at the same time carries with it some sweetness. Also dark cherries and tobacco leaves, with some light tannins.

Taste: Rich and full bodied, heavy on the cherry jam, it leans towards bigger, sweeter notes with a good juiciness of an assortment of red berries. Light tannins in the back.

Finish: Very juicy into the finish, again with the light tannins. Also some clay.

My Thoughts

This was big and rich, full-bodied, heavy flavours that were also really forward and expressive. Now it doesn’t have too much in the way of complexity, it’s quite straightforward, but it does offer up so much juiciness that makes it incredibly tasty. The tannins here almost feel like they can’t keep up (with the juiciness!) and are always languishing in the back. Simple, moreish, super tasty.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot