Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé B

1978

65% Merlot 
30% Cabernet Franc
5% Cabernet Sauvignon 

Region: Bordeaux 

ESTATE HISTORY

Founded on the ruins of a Gallo-Roman villa named "Le Palat", and later a 17th-century leper colony, the estate was sharecropping land that came to the ownership of the Comte de Malet-Roquefort. The word "gaffet" translates to leper. 
Near the end of the 19th century, the original extensive estate was divided into what became Château Canon-La-Gaffelière, and the area then called Puygenestous-Naudes, renamed Château Gaffelière-Naudes. The name was simplified after 1963. After three centuries, it still belongs to the Malet-Roquefort family.

TERROIR

Château la Gaffelière lies in the middle of its 25 hectares, all in one piece, of which 22 hectares are planted in vines in the Southern hillside of Saint-Émilion. The alliance of hillside wines and the foot of the coast produces a nectar that is powerful, distinguished and silky at the same time. This harmony is found in all the vintages of our Château.
The domaine’s vineyards enjoy a continental climate with spring rainfall similar to the St. Emilion and Pomerol regions.

The terroir consists of clay-limestone, chalk, and sand soils.

VITICULTURE

The median vine age is 40 years, and the average vine density is 6000 vines per hectare. The winery employs eco-friendly practices, including single and double guyot pruning, alternate disbudding, and adding shredded shoots for soil enrichment.

WINEMAKING

The harvested grapes are kept in cold storage at the winery for a day before they’re sorted. 
Alcoholic fermentation occurs in conical, temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, while malolactic fermentation is done in oak barrels.
The wines are aged in 50% new French oak barrels for 14 to 16 months before bottling. 

TASTING & FOOD PAIRINGS

The wines from Château la Gaffelière are a deep, luminous ruby colour displaying a rich bouquet of complex aromas dominated by cassis and truffle.

"Extremely herbaceous to the point of being vegetal, with soft, muddled, inadequately concentrated flavors, this wine is beginning its decline and should be consumed now if at all." Source: Robert Parker

Food pairings: red meat, game, ripe cheeses.

*Please note the image is of a representative bottle. For pictures of the actual bottle please contact us.