Chateau La Gaffeliere St Emilon 2012
Chateau La Gaffeliere St Emilon 2012, a Bordeaux wine from the Saint-Émilion appellation, ranked among the Premiers grands crus classes B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. The winery is located west of Château Pavie, just south of the town of Saint-Émilion, within the commune of the same name.
Refusing to bend to fashion trends, our family claims a vintners’ signature, typically French, inscribed between tradition and modernity. This respect of the terroir is linked to our origins. We are born here in this vineyard with its unique location backing onto the southern hillside of St Emilion. The blend of wines from the slope and the foot of the hillside produces a nectar, which is powerful, racy and silky. This harmony is found in each vintage of our estate. We like to share our wine, to show its finesse and elegance, the result of a know-how passed down through generations.
The 38 hectare Saint Emilion vineyard of Chateau La Gaffeliere is planted to 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. This is quite different than what you find as recently as the mid 1990’s. In those days, the Merlot was only 65% and there was also 10% of the vines devoted to Cabernet Sauvignon. Those vines have since been ripped out and replaced. The Cabernet Franc has been increased as well.
The vineyard has a terroir of clay, limestone, chalk and sandy soils. Underneath that, you find more clay and limestone on the hillsides. In the flats, you have more sand in the vineyard. You can easily divide the vineyard of La Gaffeliere into 3 main sections. The best terroir is the 7 hectares of vines on the plateau close to Chateau Ausone and not far from Chateau Belair-Monange. There is a smaller parcel on flatter land next to Moulin Saint Georges. They have one more parcel, which is their largest holding. It is located across the road from Chateau Pavie at the bottom of the slopes, where you find more gravel, rocks and sand.
