Farr Vintners Logo

La Gaffelière 2020

Tasting Notes

A worthy follow up to the excellent 2019, the 2020 La Gaffelière bursts with aromas of plums, sweet berries, licorice, mint and loamy soil. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and concentrated, with lively acids and vibrant fruit flavors, it's built around powdery, fine-grained tannins. Cabernet Franc represents fully 40% of the blend. As I wrote last year, this estate, in many respects Saint-Émilion's sleeping giant, is awakening. 2026 - 2050

95
William Kelley, Wine Advocate, April 2023

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.

96
Neal Martin, vinous.com, February 2023

Deep and intense notes of plums and blackberries with dark chocolate, toasted spices, walnut, crushed graphite and wet stones. Full-bodied with layers of ripe, velvety tannins that flow in a firm stream throughout the palate. Very structured. Delicious chocolate-wrapped black and blue fruit with spiced character and a really long finish. 60% merlot and 40% cabernet franc. Drink from 2028.

97
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, May 2023

Deep purple-black colored, the 2020 La Gaffeliere gallops out of the glass with exuberant scents of crushed black plums, boysenberries and fresh blackberries, plus hints of eucalyptus, dark chocolate, crushed rocks and iron ore, with a waft of lavender. The medium to full-bodied palate shimmers with compelling energy, delivering layers of black and red berries with fantastic tension and finely grained tannins, finishing very long and wonderfully minerally.Drink 2026-2050.

96/98
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (79), May 2021

Limestone dominance from the first moment, with saffron and oyster shell along with juicy and well-controlled blueberry and raspberry fruit, and white pepper spice. Cabernet Franc dominant in the aromatics of savoury tomato leaf, peony and heather, this is sleek, silky and excelllent quality. First vintage without the Grand Cru Classé on the label, as it withdrew from the ranking, and a clear loss to the classification. 42hl/ha yield.

95
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com, February 2023
Read more tasting notes...

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. 2028 - 2060

96/98
Neal Martin, vinous.com, May 2021

Blackberry and black-olive aromas and flavors. Full-bodied with layers of fine tannins that fill the mouth. Expansive finish. The tannins are very fine, but abundant. Really impressive.

96/97
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2021
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.