Château La Gaffelière 2016

Pleasantly fruity, juicy, medium-bodied tannins, and a lovely berry finish. Easy to drink.

Features a good core of dark currant and plum fruit, inlaid liberally with singed alder and tobacco notes. Turns a touch cedary on the finish, but has just enough fruit to keep going. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2020. 10,000 cases made.

This was delicious En Primeur and is even better now with three years under its belt. It’s had time to settle and is fully set for the long term. Wonderfully rich, intense dark fruits run through the palate, joined by grip and supple tannins. It has hints of dark chocolate, and a floral edge from the Cabernet Franc. Be in no rush to open this, because it’s clearly going to deliver over the next few decades. As of this vintage, we are seeing the blend that the estate hopes to maintain (60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc).

This is really decadent and rich, with great aromas of earth, spice, frost flowers and fresh mushrooms that carry through to a full body, firm, chewy tannins and a flavorful finish. Very, very serious from here. A blend of 70 percent merlot and 30 percent cabernet franc. Try after 2025.

The 2016 La Gaffelière is superb. Vivid and precise, with layers of nuance, the 2016 is a wine of real clarity. Blood orange, lavender, rose petal and mint add brightness to this stunningly beautiful Saint-Émilion. La Gaffelière is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc, and it is the Franc that gives the wine so much character and complexity. This is just an irresistibly captivating Saint-Émilion. Stéphane Derenoncourt and Simon Blanchard consult.

Deep ruby in color, the wine is round, lush, polished, concentrated and fruity, with these great, crushed rock and floral accents.

Deep dark ruby, firm core, purple reflections with faint brightening on the rim. Delicately floral on the nose underlaid with dark berry fruit, ripe sweet cherries and a mineral touch. Juicy and elegant with fresh fruit, fine tannins, well structured, fine blackberry conserve on the finish. Good ageing potential.

The nose offers some leafy and herbal notes, a hint of wood and red fruit notes. Medium-bodied with a firm tannic core, fresh acidity, discreet fruit, mild oak notes and a rather long finish. A youthful and restrained style still needing time.

The second wine of La Gaffelière and made with consulting advice from Claude Gros, the 2016 Clos La Gaffelière is based on 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc, aged in a mix of barrel and concrete. It’s an elegant, medium-bodied Saint-Émilion with good complexity (black cherries, brown earth, damp earth), moderate tannins, good concentration, and a clean, long finish. It’s upfront and ready to go, but I suspect it will keep for 10–15 years or more on its purity and elegance.

Deep purple with garnet glints at the rim. Intense cassis bouquet, with violets and blackberry blossoms in the background. On the firm palate with finely grained notes, finishing on a slightly crumbly finale with plum skin.

Kunz barrel sample 17: fresh, silky bouquet; raspberries, cherries, chalk, fine chocolate. Medium, austere palate with delicate fruit, plenty of fine tannins, muscular structure, powerful aromatics, austere finish.

Fresh, silky bouquet with raspberry, cherry, chalk, and a hint of fine chocolate. Medium, firm palate with delicate fruit, plenty of good tannins, muscular structure, powerful aromatics, austere finish. 17/20 2023 - 2035

Deep garnet in color, the 2016 La Gaffeliere has a nose of stewed red plums, black cherries, and kirsch, followed by hints of aniseed, mossy tree bark, and truffles. The medium-bodied palate is elegant and refined, delivering great freshness with soft tannins and an earthy finish.

Powerful, supple, elegant, already showing fine shape, this cuvée offers a foretaste of the great wine to come.

A slightly candied yet superbly elegant nose settles onto a silkier, deeper palate, with a precise verticality of tannins that holds through to the finish. Everything is pure elegance and finesse.

The wine is powerful and dense, with a superb tannic structure. Fruit and spices mingle with notes from the oak (vanilla, coffee), which will integrate over time.

Garnet red. This wine has evolved well over the last 18 months. The bouquet has gained freshness, revealing nuances of red berries and grenadine, followed by a chalky touch. The tannins are silky, perfectly integrated yet also powerful, and fully in tune with the acidic structure. It signals the onset of maturity while still having plenty of time ahead.

Dark, intense, and beautiful color. Moderately intense nose, fruity, pure, but a little discreet. The palate is all about tactile finesse, with graceful texture and a surge of flavor from mid-palate through the finish. Good sapid, refined length. Like many 2016s, this wine is closing down. Note how rare it is in Saint-Emilion to find a great wine with a low alcohol level (13.4%).

The nose is fruity, elegant, precise and racy, with a subtle gourmand touch. It reveals notes of fleshy blackberry, cornflower and, more delicately, blackcurrant, combined with small hints of lilac and red fruits, as well as discreet touches of licorice and an imperceptible hint of camphor/Sichuan pepper. The palate is fruity, balanced and elegant, offering delicacy, juiciness, a racy minerality, precision, a fine acidic backbone, lovely elegance, subtle tension, a clear guideline, a silky texture, and a fine, very tightly knit grain. On the palate, this wine shows notes of blackberry and fleshy blackcurrant, with touches of violet/cornflower, small blue fruits, and subtle hints of licorice and sweet spices/vanilla. The tannins are well handled. A lovely wine!

A warm wine rich in tannins and with succulent berry fruits, this is both powerful and elegant. Its density doesn't detract from the fruitiness that shines out of the wine and balances with the structured aging potential. Drink the wine from 2025.