Saint-Émilion · vintage 2016
Why this vintage
- 97/100 from James Sucklingand 5 other scores above 90/100.
- The 2016 vintage in Saint-ÉmilionA dry summer on full water reserves gave fresh, deep wines, magical on the asteria limestone.
Critic scores
- James Suckling97
- Wine Enthusiast97
- Vinous96
- Wine Advocate95
- Jeb Dunnuck95
- Wine Spectator94
The 2016 vintage in Saint-Émilion
Vintage benchmark: 96/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)
Vintage character: A dry summer on full water reserves gave fresh, deep wines, magical on the asteria limestone.
Overall reading of the year’s season across Saint-Émilion. An estate can depart from it sharply, in frost or hail years, where two neighbours did not make the same vintage. What this particular wine actually gave is on its technical sheet and in the scores above.
Tasting
Red fruits, core, floral notes, lots of relief in the mid-palate, very long, suave, soft, velvety tannins, great purity
Blend of the 2016 vintage
- 70 % Merlot
- 30 % Cabernet franc
Shares for this vintage, as recorded on the 2016 technical sheet. The vineyard itself is planted with 78 % merlot, 22 % cabernet franc, chardonnay — a vintage blend departs from the area under vine as the year dictates.
Figures from the 2016 sheet
- 28 yrsVine age
Winemaking
The grapes remain in a cold room at 7°C for 12 hours then undergo optical sorting. Plot vinification in thermo-regulated stainless steel vats filled by gravity No addition of sulfur Alcoholic fermentation with pump-over and punching down Malolactic fermentation in vats (75%) and barrels (25%)
Ageing
13 to 15 months in barrels. 50% in new barrels (French oak). Dodging racking
Terroir
The estate today covers 36 hectares. Historically Château la Gaffelière extended over 22 hectares, with 14 hectares of Grand Cru bought from Château Mauvezin in October 2014. Our parcels lie in three zones: The Asteries limestone plateau: layers of 3 to 5 m of clay and green marl caught between two limestone beds. The whole stands at about 90 m above sea level. From the 16th century onwards the limestone was quarried on a large scale, the blocks of stone being used to build the monuments and town houses of Bordeaux. The south to south-west facing slope: this is a privileged situation for growing vines, since it combines an exposure and a gradient favourable to ripening and to the natural drainage of water; moreover the outcrops of Fronsadais clay molasse in the subsoil make it possible to regulate the vine’s water and mineral supply. The foot of the slope: made up of deep sands carbonated by the co
An offer on Château La Gaffelière 2016
Availability, allocations and terms: the Compagnie Médocaine will reply promptly. The estate and vintage are already filled in in the message.
Texts and documents 2016
The texts below copy in one click for your product sheets, catalogues and social channels. The printable sheet condenses the whole page onto a single A4 page.
Visuals
For this vintage, the media library contains: packshots, labels. High-definition packshots, labels, back labels and lifestyle photos are reserved for clients and partners, on the Compagnie Médocaine’s VinCod media library.
Sheet checked on September 21, 2026. Technical data: the estate’s VinCod sheets. Critic scores: sources cited above, with their date. Vintage benchmarks and character: Compagnie Médocaine’s own editorial read. Soils and relief, where shown: the Compagnie Médocaine’s parcel survey and the Mapbox/IGN terrain model.