2016 Château La Gaffelière Clos La Gaffelière Saint-Emilion Grand Cru

Château La Gaffelière is a domain that has been owned by the Malet de Rouquefort family for 5 centuries. From the moment Stéphane Derenoncourt takes care of the wine cellar, it stands among the most beautiful wines of Saint-Emilion.

CLOS LA GAFFELIÈRE Saint-Émilion Grand Cru is the second wine from Chateau La Gaffelière. The Clos was saw its first light in 1985 and is mainly produced from the (relatively) young vines. The Clos La Gaffelières blend is Merlot and the French Cabernet Franc, the percentage of which varies according to the quality of the harvest year. The Clos is a real enjoy wine, especially because this second wine is still very affordable for a top house from the Saint Emilion. The wine is already fine to drink but will refine a little over the years. The ideal drinking window is between 2019 and 2028. The work in the plots of Clos is the same as in the plots for the first label: (Chateau La Gaffeliere 1er Grand Cru Classé) so much pruning (both the grapes and the leaves) and everything is Hand picked by experienced pickers so that a first selection already takes place in the vineyard. The same process is also followed in the Chateau as with the first wine with the difference between that with its big brother that this wine only has one year of (new) French oak barrels maturing. Clos La Gaffelière now has a fixed and recognized identity. in the past, this wine was only offered to private customers, but since 2000, sales have also been through the Bordeaux negociants. In specific foreign markets, the Clos is sold under the DAME GAFFELIERE label. As with the first wine, we buy the wine directly so no hassle with wanted wine in warm containers and endless transport, but in our case the wine goes directly from the cellars of the chateau to our conditioned Wine Warehouse in Dordrecht.

The grapes come from vineyards of 38 hectares, of which 22 hectares 1st Grand Cru Classé. The vineyards lie on a limestone plateau with more pebbles at the foot of the slopes. The Clos is a blend of 85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc

At the end of the spring of 2016, so much rain had fallen than in a normal year in Bordeaux. It was understandable that there were doubts about the future quality of the vintage, but then nature showed its best side. A sunny continuation of spring with a slightly later flowering but the grapes took full advantage of the wet start and the subsequent dry summer. Due to the clay soil in the vineyards there was sufficient water despite the fact that only 5 mm of rain fell in the summer. The end of the summer and the beginning of autumn were optimal and one of the reasons why 2016 is again such a beautiful (burgundy) year. The reason is that the heat stopped, there was no rain during the harvest and some cool nights arrived. The sugar buildup stopped and the grapes could continue to ripen with a nice acidity so 2016 typifies itself as very balanced.

The Clos La Gaffelière Saint-Emilion Grand Cru is a very elegant wine. The wine has a nice fresh red color with fresh red and dark berries in the nose, as well as light mocha and herbs from the Middle East. The palate has spicy flavors with soft, fine tannins and an attractive full body. Perfect for drinking now, but can also be left in the wine fridge or cellar for a few years.

92/100 James Suckling