Chateau La Gaffeliere Premier Grand Cru Classe B, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2010

This is more precise and focused with black truffle and berry. Full body, layered and refined. Beautiful freshness and form. Framed.

Deep garnet-coloured, the 2010 La Gaffeliere is quite closed to begin with, slowly unfurling to give scents of baked raspberries, kirsch, dried mulberries, and plum pudding, plus nuances of pencil shavings and forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, the palate layers in savoury and earthy flavours with a firm frame of chewy tannins and well-knit freshness, finishing with a herbal lift.

Drink 2020 - 2040

The 2010’s final blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc offers impressive levels of red, blue and black fruits as well as some toasty oak and crushed rock, giving it minerality. Of course, the acidity in this vintage, with its lower pHs than 2009, provide a freshness and precision that is rare for wines so rich. This wine has plenty of tannin, so give it 4-6 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 25-30 years.

This is a great wine from Comte Leo de Malet Roquefort’s estate, which has been owned by his family since the 1400s. Normally this estate tends to produce a relatively finesse-styled St.-Emilion, and the 2010 still leans in that direction, but it has more fat, muscle and sinew than in most vintages. The choice of Stephane Derenoncourt to manage the vineyard seems to have resulted in much lower yields and, ultimately, a wine with much more richness and persistence on the palate.

Drink 2017 - 2047

Good deep ruby-red. Sexy aromas reminded me a bit of Burgundy: black raspberry, spices, graphite minerality, flowers and chocolate. Then penetrating and very firmly built, with a distinctly medicinal cast to its smoky black fruit and tobacco flavours and a strong spine of acidity. Very intense and fine-grained Saint-Emilion, but lush and seamless too. This chateau has produced consistently excellent wines in recent vintages and this should be the best of the bunch with six to eight years in the cellar.

Tasted blind

The 2010 Canon-la-Gaffelière has quite a compact nose, backward and rather surly compared to its peers. It feels a little Left Bank in style with light pencil shaving aromas developing. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannins, a fine bead of acidity, nicely structured with a grippy, quite spicy and forthright finish that feels reassuringly persistent. Very promising, but it needs another couple of years in bottle.

Drink 2022 - 2045

Lightly savoury nose, but the black fruits still come through. Good natural tannins refresh the palate and there’s very good, lifted fruit, with fine texture and good length. A well-balanced, stylish, poised and elegant St-Émilion.

Drink 2016 - 2030