2020 Château La Gaffelière Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

The premier cru of Chateau La Gaffeliere are famous for their elegant style and this 2020 vintage is this in all its facets. This beauty can be drunk fairly early, but it is best to give it a rest for a few more years and to open this beauty from 2025. Deep purple-black in color, the La Gaffeliere 2020 jumps out of the glass with exuberant aromas of crushed black plums, black and red berries and fresh blackberries with after some rolling hints of eucalyptus, dark chocolate, mineral notes and with a hint of lavender. The medium to full-bodied palate is packed with layers of black and red berries with fantastic tension and fine-grained tannins, with a very long and wonderfully mineral finish.

96-98/100 Parker & 97/100 Suckling

The grapes for the Château La Gaffelière Saint-Émilion (and the 2nd wine de Clos) are transported in small boxes and immediately placed in cold storage (8 ° C) overnight. The next morning the bunches are mechanically destemmed and the berries are sent to the optical sorting machine via a conveyor belt. This (very expensive) high tech machine selects on grape level and only the best berries are used. The ones that fall out (more than 30%) are fruit that are sold and do not enter the 1st or 2nd wine of Gaffelière.

Everything at Château La Gaffelière works with gravity so that pumping is avoided (gives unnecessary oxygen). The grapes fall under the sorting area to the 'barrel room' by natural gravity
and consists of 20 temperature-controlled tanks, made of stainless steel and in the shape of an inverted truncated cone. This new space dedicated to vinification is high-tech, innovative, aesthetic and practical. However, the architecture remains traditional with its stone walls and wooden frame. Each plot is individually processed and vinified to extract the best expression of its terroir. Because the underground cellar is located below the barrel room, natural gravity is also used to transfer the wine to the oak barrels where it is allowed to mature in peace. Approximately 50% is new French oak barrels, then both the Château La Gaffelière and the 2nd wine, the Clos La Gaffelière, remain in the barrels for 16 months and then receive some bottle aging before we can enjoy the wine.