Château La Gaffeliere Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2018
Château La Gaffelière is Saint-Émilion royalty – a Premier Grand Cru Classé B held by the same family for over three centuries, sitting in the "golden triangle" between Ausone and Pavie. The 2018 is being hailed as one of the wines of the vintage, earning a stunning 99 points and now over 40% OFF! Don’t blink. The vines of La Gaffelière date to Gallo-Roman times… literally. In 1969, Comte Léo de Malet Roquefort unearthed Roman mosaics in the vineyard, and there's a tantalizing theory that the 4th-century poet Ausonius (yes, the namesake of neighboring Château Ausone) farmed grapes on this very spot. The estate's name is less glamorous but just as fascinating: "Gaffelière" traces to "gaffet," the medieval word for leper, a nod to a colony that once sheltered here. The Malet Roquefort family has stewarded the property for more than three centuries – one of the longest continuous family ownerships in all of Bordeaux, with lineage on the Right Bank going back to the 1400s. La Gaffelière was named a Premier Grand Cru Classé in the 1955 Saint-Émilion classification, and it holds Premier Grand Cru Classé B status today. The 22 hectares of classified vines sit in Saint-Émilion's coveted "golden triangle," nestled between the hills of Ausone and Pavie, and sprawl across the appellation's three great terroirs: the limestone plateau, the clay-limestone slope, and the siliceous foot of the hill. Since 2004, the estate has worked with star consulting oenologist Stéphane Derenoncourt, and critics have noticed – this is an estate very much on a roll. 2018 was a big, generous Right Bank vintage that rewarded estates with the terroir and know-how to keep things fresh, and La Gaffelière absolutely nailed it – several critics flat-out called it one of the wines of the vintage. The blend is 63% Merlot and 37% Cabernet Franc, aged in 60% new French oak. Now eight years on, expect it to be shy on the pop, then bloom gorgeously with air (a decanter is your friend). Soon you'll find black cherry, mulberry, and dark plum wrapped in violet and crushed rose aromas, with savory whiffs of tar and damp earth. Fine-grained, almost silky tannins, a bright zip of acidity, and signature chalky, limestone-driven minerality carry you to a long and perfumed finish. Serious Bordeaux pedigree for under 100 bucks – you won't see that every day! FOOD PAIRINGS: Those herbaceous undertones of the Franc beckon a rustic chimichurri atop a perfectly grilled pork chop.