Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé, the renowned Château La Gaffelière is rooted in centuries of tradition. Over the last 15 years, the estate has benefited from significant investments as a replanting program, the construction of a new fermentation room for a more precise plot by plot vinification process and a cold chamber, the purchase of an optical sorting machine, a vertical press. Since 2004, the property is advised by Stéphane Derenoncourt (wine consultant).
Vineyard Area: 22 ha / 19 ha in production.
Terroir : limestone plateau, clay-limestone soil on hillside, foothills more siliceous
Average age of vines : 35 years old.
Grape varieties: 80% Merlot et 20% Cabernet Franc.
Yeld: 40 hl/ha.
Vineyard Management :
Simple and double Guyot pruning - Grass cover crops in the rows - Manual de-leafing - Crop thinning.
Handpicking from September 22 to October 13, 2014.
Painstaking selection in the vines - optical sorting machine (purchased in 2013)
No crusher – plot by plot vinification in small size temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, filled up by gravity.
- Alcoholic fermentation with pump-overs and punching down,
- Malo-lactic fermentation 75% in vats, 25% in barrels,
Ageing for 14 months, in oak barrels, of which 50% are brand new.
"The 2014 La Gaffeliere appears to have improved since it's showing in barrel (I did hint at this at the time). The nose is perfumed and slightly floral, certainly well defined with neatly integrated oak, dark fruit emerging with aeration in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly edgy, chalky tannin on the entry, shrouded by plenty of dusky black fruit and a potent, graphite-tinged finish. This is one to watch. Drink by 2040."
Robert Parker Wine Advocate 91pts