Clos La Gaffelière 2020

Here's a winner in this heat-influenced vintage, showing remarkable purity and focus, with a gorgeous beam of cassis, cherry paste and violet cruising through, inlaid with subtle chalky minerality and backed by a broad stroke of mouthwatering tobacco on the finish. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2028 through 2040. 7,500 cases made, 250 cases imported.

Perfumed, delicate, generous and evocative in equal measure. The fruit quality is excellent, so vibrant and lifted, shining from the glass. Really bright, full of energy and dynamism. Lovely lifted expression full of rose petals, herbal-tinged raspberries, blackcurrants and plums. Chalky, creamy and salty, with a cooling freshness. Plenty to like with classic elements as well as touches of the hot vintage. It’s not showing its best right now, but this is delicious.

Deep and intense notes of plums and blackberries with dark chocolate, toasted spices, walnut, crushed graphite and wet stones. Full-bodied with layers of ripe, velvety tannins that flow in a firm stream across the palate. Very structured. Delicious chocolate-wrapped black and blue fruit with a spiced character and a really long finish. 60% merlot and 40% cabernet franc. Drink from 2028.

60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc. Crimson hue. Dark-fruit aroma but the nose just a little diffuse at present. Probably needs to settle as only bottled in June 2022. Lovely freshness to the palate and, as with the 2019, a silky, smooth texture, the tannins very refined. Definite weight and structure and again precision. (JL)

The 2020 La Gaffelière is superb. Rich, dense and explosive. Black cherry, gravel, licorice, grilled herbs and menthol race out of the glass. Deep, pliant and explosive, the 2020 is magnificent. At this stage, the 2020 is an infant, but that won't be a problem in a few years. This vivid, statuesque Saint-Émilion is nothing short of thrilling.

Wild plum and iris fragrance then chocolate, intensely herbal, herbal bitters, black pepper. Robustly built on the palate; grainy, fleshy, exceptionally well extracted, rich matter, a pinch of greenness heightens the tension without disrupting the harmony, well-integrated alcohol, ripe macerated fruit, tobacco finish. A firm, very powerful wine with an aromatic lift of freshness; an exceptional prospect.

The 2020 Château La Gaffelière checks in as a 60/40 split of Merlot and Cabernet Franc that saw 50% new barrels. This medium- to full-bodied, pure, elegant, seamless Saint-Emilion offers plenty of cassis and darker raspberry-like fruits, good mid-palate depth, ripe tannins, and solid complexity in its notes of graphite, sandalwood, and Asian spices. It doesn’t bring the depth and richness of the top wines of the vintage, but it certainly shines for its complexity and balance.

Playful red-berry bouquet, raspberry pulp, dried thyme and light graphite. Mid-palate with a soft texture, supportive verve, ripe extract and a sinewy body. The focused finish shows morello cherry and juniper.

Kunz barrel sample 2021: peppery, slender bouquet, red berries, cherries, wood. Slim, firm palate with light fruit, fine sandy tannins, angular structure, long, bitter finish.

Peppery, slender bouquet with red berries, cherries, wood. Slim, firm palate with light fruit, fine sandy tannins, edgy structure, long, bitter finish. 17/20 2025 - 2038

Limestone dominance from the first moment, with saffron and oyster shell alongside juicy, well-controlled blueberry and raspberry fruit, and a touch of white pepper spice. Cabernet Franc leads the aromatics, with savoury tomato leaf, peony and heather; this is sleek, silky and of excellent quality. First vintage without Grand Cru Classé on the label, as it withdrew from the ranking—clearly a loss for the classification. Yield of 42 hl/ha.

The 2020 La Gaffeliere is composed of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it soars out of the glass with expressive notes of redcurrant jelly, plum preserves, and kirsch, plus nuances of dark chocolate, violets, pencil lead, and fragrant soil with a waft of crushed rocks. The medium-bodied palate is so tightly wound, featuring very fine layers of red and black fruit intertwined with floral and mineral nuances, supported by highly pixilated, super-ripe tannins and amazing tension, finishing very long and with the energy of an atomic bomb. This is stunning!

89-90

So much energy and detail in Gaffelière 2020! The wine stands out for its vigor, but also its finesse and its ability to fully turn the vintage’s constraints into positives. Juicy in character, it has a lively, incisive acid structure, while its perfectly integrated tannins deliver power. This Gaffelière strikes me as highly accomplished, high-performing, and capable of aging for decades to come. The shift initiated in 2017 proved decisive: the level at La Gaffelière has surpassed the glory of yesteryear, underscoring its place among the elite of Saint-Emilion. Just saying! A great success to follow as it evolves.

Beautiful dark color, intense and vibrant. Very aromatic nose, fine, fruity, pure and subtle. Precise on the attack, very aromatic mid-palate, with graceful texture; the wine unfolds long and sappy on the finish with fruity and floral nuances. Fine grain.

95–97. Barrel Sample. Incredibly perfumed from the rich Cabernet Franc that gives this wine its real identity. A fine smoky character shines through the firm tannins. This and the wine's delicious fruits promise great things as it develops.