Collection: Château La Gaffelière

Buying Château La Gaffelière means bringing one of the oldest family histories in Bordeaux into your own cellar. The estate has been owned by the de Malet Roquefort family since 1705, and is managed today by Alexandre de Malet Roquefort. Up to the 2021 vintage, every bottle carries the title Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé B. At wein-sammeln.de, you will find selected vintages – individually checked and with documented provenance.

Roman mosaics and a name from the Middle Ages

The history of this site dates back nearly two millennia. In 1969, the family discovered the remains of a Gallo-Roman villa with elaborate mosaics at the "Le Palat" site. It is believed to have belonged to the estate of the poet Ausonius, whose name continues to live on today in the neighboring Château Ausone. The name La Gaffelière is more recent: "Gaffets" was the old term for lepers, and a leper colony once stood on this site. Until the 1960s, the estate was known as Château La Gaffelière-Naudes. Therefore, anyone wishing to buy Château La Gaffelière today is also acquiring a piece of the Libournais region’s cultural history.

Limestone on three levels

The vineyard area for the Grand Vin covers 22 hectares in the south of Saint-Émilion. It is spread across three levels: the limestone plateau, the clay-limestone slope, and the foot of the slope, all facing south and southwest. The best parcels lie on the plateau, directly next to Château Ausone and Château Bélair-Monange. A large vineyard site looks across to Château Pavie. Merlot is dominant. However, since the major replanting that began around 2000, the share of Cabernet Franc has grown, reaching 35 to 40 percent according to some sources. Stéphane Derenoncourt has been overseeing work in the vineyard and cellar since 2004. The Grand Vin matures for one to one-and-a-half years in French oak, and the second wine is called Clos La Gaffelière. Those looking to buy Château La Gaffelière will receive a Saint-Émilion with chalky freshness and a silky texture – more elegant than opulent.

1955 to 2021: Premier Grand Cru Classé B – and a deliberate departure

In the first classification of Saint-Émilion in 1955, La Gaffelière was ranked as Premier Grand Cru Classé B, in category "B" behind Ausone and Cheval Blanc. The Château held this rank for nearly seven decades. In June 2022, the family decided not to reapply. Their reasoning: the new criteria placed too much weight on marketing and tourism, and too little on terroir. Alexandre de Malet Roquefort noted that his father had been involved in the creation of the classification system itself. Ausone, Cheval Blanc, and Angélus had taken the same step shortly before.

For collectors, this has a clear consequence. The vintages up to and including 2021 are the last to have been released on the market as Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé B. From 2022 onwards, the wine is released as Saint-Émilion Grand Cru. If you are looking at Bordeaux wine as an investment or specifically want to buy Château La Gaffelière, you should be aware of this milestone.

A vintage as a gift

A birth year, a wedding anniversary, the founding year of a company: those who want to give a rare wine as a gift are usually looking for a specific year. La Gaffelière is a great choice because good vintages mature over two to three decades. Added to that is a story that can be told upon opening the bottle, from Roman mosaics to a family that has held the estate for over 300 years. A practical tip: if you want to give a rare wine as a gift, pay attention to the fill level and the cork for older vintages. This is exactly what I check before a bottle goes online. Incidentally, many customers who buy Château La Gaffelière do not do so for themselves.

As an investment: opportunities and limitations

Experienced collectors look at provenance, condition, and scarcity. With La Gaffelière, a fourth point must be considered. The vintages up to 2021 are the last to carry the title Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé B, and their stock decreases with every bottle opened. For Bordeaux wine as an investment, this can be an argument. However, it is impossible to predict with any certainty today whether the market will reward or penalize the withdrawal from the classification in the long term. There is never a guarantee of return on wine. Those who want to buy Château La Gaffelière to hold it long-term should therefore think in decades and focus on flawless provenance. This is the deciding factor for the price upon resale.

Available vintages

Directly above this text, you can see all bottles currently available, each with its own provenance. Are you looking for a vintage that is currently missing? Are you systematically building a portfolio of Bordeaux wine as an investment and need a specific sequence of vintages? Or would you like to give a rare wine as a gift and are unsure about the vintage? Write to me. You can buy Château La Gaffelière here – with the peace of mind that every bottle has passed through my hands beforehand.

Would you like to learn more about the winery?

Click here to go directly to the website of Château La Gaffelière.

Frequently asked questions about Château La Gaffelière

Is Château La Gaffelière still classified? No, not since the 2022 vintage. The de Malet Roquefort family decided not to reapply in June 2022. However, the vintages from 1955 to 2021 originate from the time it was a Premier Grand Cru Classé B and retain that status.

What is the difference between La Gaffelière and Canon-la-Gaffelière? They are two independent wineries with a common origin. Both can be traced back to lands belonging to the Malet Roquefort family. Canon-la-Gaffelière has been owned by the von Neipperg family since 1971 and remains a Premier Grand Cru Classé B.

Which vintages are considered particularly successful? Critics highlight 2005, 2009, 2010, and the series from 2015 onwards, among others, as well as the classics 1955 and 1961. You can see which of these are currently available in the product grid above.

Similar wineries from Saint-Émilion

The closest relative is Château Canon-la-Gaffelière: same origin, same name root, now an independent estate. Château Ausone borders directly on the plateau and also withdrew from the classification in 2021. Located opposite on the slope is Château Pavie, a Premier Grand Cru Classé "A" since 2012.