Château La Gaffelière

The estate

La Gaffelière stands in the gap between the hills of Pavie and Ausone, and the Malet Roquefort family has held it for more than 3 centuries. The name is older than the wine: it comes from the gahets, or gaffets, the lepers whose hospital once stood on this ground, as a history of Saint-Émilion published in 1923 explains. The trade noticed the wine early. Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, placed the comte de Malet’s La Gaffelière among the first growths of Saint-Émilion from 1893, and by 1920 it was making 50 to 60 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels), with gold medals from Paris in 1867 and 1900.

In 2012 it was ranked Premier Grand Cru Classé. For the classification of 2022 the family applied, received the commission’s first report, and on June 1, 2022 withdrew its file without asking for a second look or a hearing. “We no longer recognise ourselves in this system,” read the statement signed by Alexandre de Malet Roquefort. Ausone and Cheval Blanc had declined to apply in July 2021 and Angélus had left on January 5, 2022; with La Gaffelière, 4 of the most famous names of Saint-Émilion now stand outside the ranking that once put them in its top tier. The estate simply calls itself a Grand Cru Historique.

The vineyard, 22 hectares facing due south, holds all 3 terroirs of Saint-Émilion in one estate: the limestone plateau, the clay and limestone slope and the sandier foot of the slope. It is planted 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc, with vines 35 years old on average, picked by hand, fermented in stainless steel and raised in barrels, half of them new; about 60,000 bottles a year. Clos La Gaffelière, made since the mid-1980s from plots at the foot of the slopes, is the second wine.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

Commune

Saint-Émilion, between the hills of Pavie and Ausone

Classification

Premier Grand Cru Classé in 2012; withdrew from the classification of 2022 on June 1, 2022

Owners

The Malet Roquefort family, for more than 3 centuries

Vineyard

22 hectares facing due south; vines 35 years old on average

Ground

Limestone plateau, clay and limestone slope, sandier foot of the slope

Grapes

Merlot 70%, Cabernet Franc 30%

Farming

ISO 14001; Haute Valeur Environnementale (High Environmental Value, the French state’s environmental certification for farms)

Cellar

Picked by hand; stainless steel vats; barrels, 50% new

Production

About 60,000 bottles a year

Wines

Château La Gaffelière; Clos La Gaffelière

In history

Among the first growths of Saint-Émilion from 1893; 50 to 60 tonneaux in 1920

Sources: Château La Gaffelière, the estate · Conseil des Vins de Saint-Émilion, Château la Gaffelière, estate sheet · Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité, the Saint-Émilion classification of 2012, the list of September 6, 2012 · Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité, the Saint-Émilion classification of 2022 · Decanter, La Gaffelière withdraws from the next classification, June 1, 2022 · The Drinks Business, why La Gaffelière is leaving the classification, June 8, 2022 · Decanter, Cheval Blanc and Ausone leave the classification · Decanter, Angélus withdraws from the next classification · Château La Gaffelière, Clos La Gaffelière