Peter Maude Fine Wines
2022, Château Gaffelière, SAINT-ÉMILION, 1er Grand Cru Classé
$140.78 inc. GST
Bordeaux Blend: Merlot, Cabernet Franc.
This 38 hectare estate is situated below Ausone and close to Pavie on the limestone south-facing slopes of Saint Emilion. La Gaffelière is 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc. The 2022 is another exceptional wine from the Malet Roquefort family.
The 2022 La Gaffelière is a drop-dead gorgeous beauty. Refined, sculpted and wonderfully precise, La Gaffelière simply has it all. Hints of lavender, mint, blood orange, spice and black cherry fruit all race across the glass. Clean mineral notes and fine tannins support the finish. The delineation here is simply breathtaking. 98-100 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.
The 2022 La Gaffelière continues this Saint-Émilion's strong run of form in recent years. The nose is extremely pure and shimmers with nascent excitement, beautifully defined with blackberry, raspberry and touches of cassis. If aromatics could "glide" then this would be a prime example. The palate is exquisite in terms of balance, just a little granular in texture. The 60% new oak is seamlessly integrated. There are hints of bay and tea leaf toward the silky-smooth finish, completing a potentially marvellous wine. 2030-2065. 95-97 Neal Martin, Vinous.
Such a delicious wine in 2022, with mouthwateringly sappy tannins, juicy and approachable while being muscular and stacked, and here the concentrated blackcurrant and loganberry fruit is studded through with oyster shell salinity. La Gaffelière is not the most high profile of the estates to have resigned from the St Emilion classification, but it's a real loss, because it is finding these type of wines that makes the ranking so worthwhile. Stéphane Derenoncourt consultant. 96 Jane Anson, Decanter.
This is serious. Bold and structured with beautiful fruit, which is crunchy and vibrant. Full body. Lots of complexity and depth with a wide and velvety tannin structure. Excellent length. Lots of blue fruits. Touch of whole cluster. 96-97 James Suckling.
Drinking Window: 2032 - 2062