CHÂTEAU LA GAFFELIÈRE

The 2020 La Gaffelière was a knockout out of barrel and so expectations were high broaching the wine in bottle. It delivers a sumptuous yet beautifully-defined bouquet with pure black cherry and red plum aromas, an underlying mineralité that keeps it on its toes. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, quite saline, perhaps still a little closed post-bottling but with plenty of tension running from start to finish. It's a Saint-Émilion that says bugger off and come back (a lot) later. Drinking range: 2028 - 2060 Rating: 96 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Feb 2023)

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. —J.M. Drinking range: 2028 - 2040 Rating: 95 The Wine Spectator, www.winespectator.com (Dec 2022)

Bitter, oaky and also a little too stewed, this is a challenging wine and I am struggling to find any redeeming features given its perfume is green and raw and the finish is astringent and hard. What a shame. Rating: 16+? Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com (Jun 2021)

The 2020 La Gaffelière is simply magnificent. Soaring, regal aromatics are immediately alluring. Deep and beautifully layered in the glass, the 2020 is vibrant and packed to the core. In 2020, the tannins are especially fine and silky for a Saint-Émilion that often shows a bit more tension in its youth. Bright red cherry, blood orange, mocha, spice, dried herbs and leather envelop the palate effortlessly. I imagine the 2020 will provide readers with many decades of exceptional drinking. It is another superb effort from a property that continues to impress. Drinking range: 2032 - 2050 Rating: 96-98 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Jun 2021)

The 2020 La Gaffelière has an intriguing, complex nose, a mélange of red and black fruit, cigar box, undergrowth and mint, quite mercurial in the glass as it opens with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins, a beautiful seam of acidity and perhaps the most satin-like texture I have encountered on a young La Gaffelière. It sashays to a harmonious and precise finish and lingers with wonderful mineralité. This is a magnificent prospect. Drinking range: 2028 - 2060 Rating: 96-98 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2021)

An run of successful vintages at La Gaffeliere, and this again proves why it is an estate to watch, striking an expert balance between power and finesse. Offers a ton of cassis, blackberry, black cherry and damson fruits, licorice root and crushed stone, just gorgeously juicy and stretches out across the palate. Austere tannins at this point, plenty of limestone character, a little tight on the finish but with a velvet texture and promises to age with grace. A yield of 42hl/ha. Drinking range: 2028 - 2044 Rating: 95 Jane Anson, Decanter (May 2021)

60% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc. Dark, deep crimson. Very interesting and distinctive on the nose – fresher than most. Luscious and sweet on the palate with a little hint of oak. I have to say that I much prefer the nose to the palate at this juncture. But my score is for that impressive aroma and the nudging but (just) not-too-insistent tannins. Drinking range: 2027 - 2042 Rating: 16.5+ Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2021)