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Château La Gaffelière

As might be imagined, La Gaffelière and Canon-la-Gaffelière, which lies just to the south of Gaffelière per se, have a common origin. Although the modern history of La Gaffelière begins with the Comte de Malet-Roquefort, the origins of the estate are probably ancient. There is evidence, as I have discussed in my profile of Canon-la-Gaffelière, of an ancient settlement here, as archaeological excavation has unearthed numerous artefacts from the era of Roman occupation, and evidence of a Gallo-Roman villa named Le Palat. Although the building that exists at La Gaffelière today does not date from that era, it is nevertheless ancient, as parts date from the 11th century, suggesting that there has been many centuries of habitation at this location. Indeed, by the 17th century the estate was well known as a leper colony, which explains the origins of the name, gaffet translating as leper. It was about this time that the estate came to the Comte de Malet-Roquefort.

The estate was extensive, and it is likely that the new owners rented out much of what they owned to share-croppers, a system whereby the tenants worked the land, which they paid for by handing over a proportion of the harvest to their landlords each year. With time these crops, perhaps cereal and beet, would have been increasingly replaced by the vine, as viticulture began to dominant the landscape. Certainly by the mid-18th century records show that there was a significant volume of wine produced on the estate, and by the 1840s the Malet-Roquefort family were looking after a number of vineyards including Peygenoustous et St Georges and Fondroque (today's Fonroque), and there were other vignerons named Boitard and Modet who were producing wine from the Gaffelière estate. With the passage of time the Malet-Roquefort estate was divided up; that part of Gaffelière being farmed by Boitard stayed with him, and was destined to become the modern-day Canon-la-Gaffelière. Meanwhile that land retained by the descendents of Comte de Malet-Roquefort was combined with their other plot of land, now called Puygenestous-Naudes, also incorporating the Modet plot which they purloined in the 1860s, and the estate was renamed La Gaffelière-Naudes in the 1890s. Indeed, this remained the name of the wine as bottled up until the 1960s. The Malet-Roquefort family remained in charge, weathering the sequential assault of phylloxera, oidium, economic depression and war well, although during the 20th century the quality of the wine deteriorated, although this latter point in the tale is applicable to many châteaux of Bordeaux at this time. Today the Malet-Roquefort family, in the shape of Comte Léo de Malet-Roquefort, still runs the show, a remarkable tenure of at least three centuries that must surely be unrivalled anywhere in Bordeaux. It is perhaps noteworthy that along the way they have had some help from Alexandre Thienpont, who was régisseur for a couple of years in the 1980s, before he moved on to Vieux-Château-Certan.

Today the Gaffelière estate accounts for 25 hectares of the St Emilion appellation, of which 22 hectares are planted to vines. The vineyards themselves are situated just to the south of the town on the D122, and are overlooked by some illustrious names, including Ausone, Belair and Magdelaine. The soils underfoot are clay and mica towards the top of the slope, nearer the town, with more chalk towards the foot as the vines run towards the Dordogne. The vines which have an average age of 40 years are dominated by Merlot which accounts for 66%, the remainder being a balance of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, trained in the usual Bordeaux system which is double Guyot and planted at a density of 5800 vines/ha. The manual harvest brings in fruit at a yield of 40 hl/ha, achieved by cluster thinning earlier in the year, and after sorting and destemming the fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks. After about three weeks maceration the wine is racked into barrels where oak maturation occurs over a period of 18 to 20 months with a racking every three months. There is an egg white fining before bottling with a selection for the grand vin, Château La Gaffelière (typically 10000 cases per annum), leaving deselected vats and the produce of young vines less than fifteen years of age for the second wine, Clos La Gaffelière.

Most reports of La Gaffelière describe a decline in quality through the 20th century, and news of a turnaround tends to be inconsistently presented. Indeed, one of the most noteworthy events at the estate in recent years has nothing to do with its wine; in 2003 La Gaffelière gained more notoriety as the location of a windswept garden party during Vinexpo, which had vinously illustrious guests such as Michael Broadbent running for cover in the face of crashing trees and exploding fairy lights, if reports are to be believed. Worse still, the destruction of the marquee meant that guests were deprived of many of their canapés, and were forced to drink 1982 Cheval-Blanc and 1961 Pavie from jeroboams as they sheltered in the Gaffelière chai. It sounds like a terrible ordeal.

My recent tasting experience is such that I should only comment on specific vintages, and not extrapolate this to describe the performance of La Gaffelière in any other fashion. The 1998 was good, which is perhaps to damn with faint praise in view of the success of this vintage for the region. Nevertheless, the wine itself had some elegant properties, with some substance beneath, and overall I enjoyed it. The 2004 I found less convincing, and again I think this was a favourable if not great vintage for the region. I will be watching out for future vintages of La Gaffelière with interest. (9/11/07)

Contact details:
Address: Maison Malet Roquefort, St Pey d'Armens, 33330 St Emilion
Telephone: +33 (0) 5 57 56 40 80
Fax: +33 (0) 5 57 56 40 89
Internet: www.chateau-la-gaffeliere.com
GPS: 44.885485, -0.156991

Château La Gaffelière - Tasting Notes

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Château La Gaffelière (St Emilion) 2010: A vibrant crimson rim here. An interesting nose too, bright and perfumed, a rare example of red fruits in this vintage here, albeit laced with vanilla and toffee. Qute floral and perfumed, with a chalky-violet tinge. A gentle start on the palate, a slight toffee-oak note here matching that on the nose, with supple fruit. It seems rather soft but I like the exotic red fruit character it has. The acidity is quite prominent here, the fruit becoming very feminine with it. The tannins only really show in the finish. Overall, attractive and rather freshly styled. From my Bordeaux 2010 primeurs assessment. 15.5-16.5/20 (April 2011)

Château La Gaffelière (St Emilion) 2009: Looking back to my primeur note this was warm and extracted, and that sample seems to have been representative. Now in bottle this has a surprisingly muted nose, suggestive of slightly high-toned fruit with a suggestion of warm spirit coming in behind. Another muted start here on the palate, but here the fruit segues into a more perfumed character, and unlike the clumsy weight of some the tannins here are a little more restrained. Firm, gripping down quite hard on the finish, but not to the detriment of the whole wine thankfully. There is hope here that this will settle down into something quite interesting. From a tasting of 2009 Bordeaux at two years of age. 15.5/20 (October 2011)

Château La Gaffelière (St Emilion) 2009: This has a warm, slightly baked but rather reticent fruit character on the nose in this vintage. Nice flesh, very dark, with lots of flavour. Huge extraction here, piles of tannins, and lots of fresh acidity too. The fruit has a dark style. Plenty of vigour. This is a wine with a prodigious level of extraction and structure; this, together with that hot fruit character on the nose, makes me just add a little note of caution to this one. From my 2009 Bordeaux primeur assessment. 16-17+?/20 (March 2010)

Château La Gaffelière (St Emilion) 2008: Not so expressive as some, with dark and charcoaly fruit. Supple on entry, with a firmer midpalate, this is quite well composed. A good weight, rounded and rich rather than creamy, with a rather stony substance to it. Structured, with firm tannins dominating the midpalate, but rounded off with a nice, sappy finish. Dry but ripe grip, substantial and tannic. Good potential here. From my 2008 Bordeaux primeur assessment. 16-17+/20 (April 2009)

Château La Gaffelière (St Emilion) 2007: Another wine tasted twice during the primeurs week, and which I liked. Again less convincing today; the nose has some warm and slightly macerated fruits, and the palate is soft and gently perfumed. Light, chalky tannins, it has some suppleness but it also seems a touch lean. More profoundly tannic at the end, where it is a little charcoaly and hard. A very different impression; it would be worthwhile retasting this one. From a tasting of 2007 Bordeaux at two years of age. 15+?/20 (October 2009)

Château La Gaffelière (St Emilion) 2007: Tasted twice during the primeurs week, this wine has aromatic fruit, freshly delivered, a nose of crunchy raspberry fruit mixed with flattering cream. It has a lovely style on the palate, which is creamy and persistent, and has a fine composition. Rounded fruit covers the tannic grip, and there is a lot of substance underneath. It is a little leaner further on in the palate, but it has vigour and life. Very good potential here. From my 2007 Bordeaux en primeur assessment. 16-17+/20 (April 2008)

Château La Gaffelière (St Emilion) 2005: This has a wealth of dense fruit on the nose, and a rather crisp character, perhaps enhanced by the redcurrant fruit it is displaying. It has a rather cool and integrated start on the palate, showing good acidity, but then this gives way to a rather hot tannic wall which comes to be all-dominating. A huge, mouth-gripping style; this is too much for me. From my tasting of 2005 Bordeaux at two years of age. 14.5-15.5/20 (October 2007)

Château La Gaffelière (St Emilion) 2004: Rather muted nose, but some great blackberry fruit aromas coming up from the glass at times. Tannins rather obvious and perhaps even extraneous on the palate; there is fruit and texture, but a sense of dried out over-extraction. Good at best. From my Bordeaux 2004 assessment. 14/20 (October 2006)

Château La Gaffelière (St Emilion) 1998: An estate that has remained family owned for longer than any other in St Emilion. The vineyards are planted with Merlot 65%, Cabernet Franc 30%, Cabernet Sauvignon 5%. Fermented in stainless steel, malolactic in barrel. A moderate intensity of hue. A classic nose, with ripe, dark fruits and a perfumed, violet edge. Elegant and balanced on the palate, with a lovely backbone of tannins which sink behind the deep texture. Full, with some concentration. A good, somewhat tannic, length. From a 1998 St Emilion masterclass. 16/20 (May 2004)