2022 Château La Gaffelière, St-Emilion

Such a delicious wine in 2022, with mouthwateringly sappy tannins, juicy and approachable while being muscular and stacked, and here the concentrated blackcurrant and loganberry fruit is studded through with oyster shell salinity. La Gaffelière is not the most high profile of the estates to have resigned from the St Emilion classification, but it's a real loss, because it is finding these type of wines that makes the ranking so worthwhile. Look out also for a 100% Cabernet Franc cuvee (not tasted, so I'll be looking out too) from this vintage to be released in a few years. Stéphane Derenoncourt consultant.

The 2022 Château La Gaffelière showed beautifully, with a medium to full-bodied, forward, sexy style carrying ample ripe black cherries, spring flowers, camphor, and graphite aromatics. These carry to a medium to full-bodied Saint-Emilion with nicely integrated tannins, remarkable purity, and a great, great finish. This is clearly a gorgeous Saint-Emilion in the making and is well worth seeking out. The blend is 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, and this is certainly in the same ballpark, if not better than, the 2018, 2019, and 2020.

A blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, the 2022 La Gaffelière derives exclusively from the prime hillside vineyards below Ausone that made this estate so compelling in the early and mid-twentieth century, and the 2022 is the finest wine produced at this address in many a year, surpassing the 2019 and 2020 in quality. Wafting from the glass with incipiently complex aromas of wild berries, violets, lilac, licorice, vine smoke and raw cocoa, it's medium to full-bodied, supple and seamless, with a deep, multidimensional and beautifully vibrant core of fruit and polished tannins, concluding with a long, mouthwatering finish.

This is serious. Bold and structured with beautiful fruit, which is crunchy and vibrant. Full body. Lots of complexity and depth with a wide and velvety tannin structure. Excellent length. Lots of blue fruits. Touch of whole cluster.

The 2022 La Gaffelière is a drop-dead gorgeous beauty. Refined, sculpted and wonderfully precise, La Gaffelière simply has it all. Hints of lavender, mint, blood orange, spice and black cherry fruit all race across the glass. Clean mineral notes and fine tannins support the finish. The delineation here is simply breathtaking. La Gaffelière is 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc. Élevage is expected to be 19 months in 50% new oak and 50% neutral barrels. The 2022 is another exceptional wine from the Malet Roquefort family.