Chateau La Gaffeliere

Both La Gaffeliere and Canon-la-Gaffeliere have a common origin, with evidence showing that there were people living there since Roman times. Parts of the estate can be dated from the 11^th century, and by the 17^th century it was well known as a leper colony.

It was during that time the estate came to the ownership of Comte de Malet-Roquefort. And by the mid-18^th century there was significant volume of wine produced on the estate. However, it was later divided, with the part farmed by the Boitard family later became the modern-day Canon-la-Gaffeliere.

The land retained by the descendants of Comte de Malet-Roquefort was combined with other plots of land, and renamed La Gaffeliere-Naudes in 1890s. The name was retained on label until 1960s, and the Malet-Roquefort family remained in charge, for now more than four centuries.

It now covers 25 ha, of which 22 ha are planted with vines. Located just south of the town of St-Emilion, the soils are clay and mica towards the top of the slope, and more chalk towards the foot. The vines have an average age of 40 years, with Merlot accounting for 66%, with the remaining a balance between Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

The vines are trained in double Guyot and planted at a density of 5800 vines/ha. Manually harvested, the berries are sorted and destemmed before fermentation, taking place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. After three weeks of maceration it is racked into barrels for 18-20 months, with racking every 3 months. The wine is fined with egg white before bottling.

The grand vin is Chateau La Gaffeliere, with about 10000 cases produced per year, and the second wine Clos La Gaffeliere are made using vines less than 15 years of age and deselected vats.

 

I have tasted the 2003 Chateau La Gaffeliere and below is my tasting note:

 

Very good quality St-Emilion with deep ruby color, showing a fairly intense and complex nose with aromas of blackberry, blueberry and black cherry, nutmeg, forest floor and savory, cedar and vanilla. Medium in acidity, the wine has a good, ripe and silk tannin, fairly full-bodied, and exhibiting good concentration of blackberry and blueberry, toast and cedar, cinnamon and cocoa flavors. However, the finish is only at an acceptable length. Ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 5-8 years.