| La Gaffelière 2002 • August 2003 | LA GAFFELIERE
1st Great Classified Growth "B"
2002 Vintage
History :
Count Malet Roquefort, the owner of Château La Gaffelière, which is located at the entrance to Saint-Émilion, was born of a very ancient family, who had settled in Saint-Émilion in the 17th century. The vines are grown on one of the most ancient parts of the jurisdiction dating back to the Gallo-Roman era.
The vineyard covers an area of 22 hectares (54.34 acres). The vines have an average age of 35 years and are planted on clay-limestone soil ; half of them stretch over slopes and the other half over the plain. The grape varieties are made up of 80 % Merlot, 10 % Cabernet Franc and 10 % Cabernet Sauvignon.
The yield is no more than 40 hectolitres per hectare.
Vineyard management :
The vineyard is maintained traditionally, combining ploughing the soil with natural grass-growing between the rows, according to the plots and the exposure. The vines are pruned with the Double Guyot technique, leaving two “windows” to give better exposure to sunshine and ventilation for the bunches.
In July, in order to maximise the quality of the crop, the bunches are thinned out.
Weather conditions and harvesting :
The growing season was supervised by our technical consultant, Philippe Gard. The 2002 vintage finished with an overall lack of water in the soil, in spite of the summer bringing relatively few hours of sunshine. The month of September, on the other hand, was exceptionally fine, with very good conditions for ripening. This had the effect of reducing the pressure of rot, which had broken out at the beginning of the month, and enabled us to harvest healthy and perfectly ripe grapes.
The harvest therefore took place in very good conditions from the 24th September until the 9th October 2002. The picking was carried out by hand, followed by a sorting of the berries.
Vinification and ageing :
The vinification took place under the supervision of Denis Dubourdieu. It was carried out in stainless steel vats. The method remains traditional, with a pre-fermentation cold maceration of a few days, then yeasting and fermentation. The must is pumped over, and the cap of skins is punched down. The vats are temperature-controlled at 28° through to the end of the maceration until the running off, the date of which is fixed according to the tasting characteristics of each vat. The malo-lactic fermentation takes place in new oak barrels and in vats.
The wine ages in new barrels and second fill barrels for a period of between 10 and 12 months.
The proportion set aside for the second wine "Le Clos La Gaffelière" will be about 10 %.
Tasting notes :
The wine already displays a deep colour. The nose is fine and fruity, and on the palate it is attractive with good length. | |
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