Château La Gaffelière: The Boitard de la Poterie Family
That there was viticulture and winemaking at Gaffelière is supported by the writings of Lecoutre de Beauvais, a local négociant who also published Le Producteur Bordelais. In 1841 it was noted that the estate, named Gaffelière-Boitard or sometimes Canon-Boitard, was turning out 40 tonneaux each year; this was the equivalent of 160 modern-day barriques, a handsome production. This was still the state of play when the property appeared in the first ever edition of Cocks et Féret, in 1850, when it was ranked as a deuxième cru, although to be straight it was fairly low down the author’s list. Two proprietors were noted to be working the vines at La Gaffelière, one being Boitard, still turning out 40 tonneaux per annum, and the other named Modet, his production being somewhat smaller at 10 tonneaux.
The Gaffelière-Boitard domaine can be traced through what remained of the 19th century as it appeared in various editions of Cocks et Féret but little information other than its size or production can be gleaned, as it usually received only a passing mention. In 1868 the Boitard family were still there, although production had fallen to between 20 and 25 tonneaux per annum, while Modet had gone, his vines having been acquired by Comte Jean-Léo de Malet-Roquefort, who was turning out 15 to 20 tonneaux each year. It is this latter vineyard was the origin of Château La Gaffelière, and so it is the story of the Malet-Roquefort vines I will continue to explore in this profile. I will make no further mention of the Boitard vines; these were, of course, the origin of Château Canon-la-Gaffelière.