2024 Ch La Gaffeliere 1er Cru Grand Classé, St-Émilion

DUE OCT/NOV 2027

Rose petals, some black cherries and red berries. A hint of coffee beans. Fleshier on the palate than many of its counterparts, showing medium body and bright acidity. Good length to close.

93-94 points jamessuckling.com

Unwinding in the glass with a gently oaky bouquet of dark berries, spices, mulberries and licorice, the 2024 La Gaffelière is medium to full-bodied, lively and tense. Its incisive mid-palate is framed by brittle tannins that assert themselves in a short, chalky finish. Time will likely tame its slight rusticity.

90-92 points robertparker.com

Smoky oak impact on the opening, dense fruit to accompany, with lilac and iris, chalky palma violets, good quality and texture, cloves and cassis. Austerity comes in pretty strongly through the mid palate, this is one to look out for after ageing, and is a potential upscore in bottle. Third vintage since they stepped back from the classification. Harvest 25 September to 7 October. 50% new oak. Tasted twice.

93 points janeanson.com

The 2024 Bordeaux en primeur campaign is unfolding in the shadow of a cool, wet growing season that challenged winemakers across the region. After three warm, early vintages in a row, 2024 has returned to a more classic, slow-developing profile — think freshness, lower alcohols, and finer tannins, especially from top terroirs. It’s not a blockbuster year, but it may well be a sleeper vintage for those who value structure, clarity, and elegance over sheer concentration.

The early tastings point to Cabernet-led wines in the Médoc with good definition and precision. Pauillac and St-Julien performed particularly well, especially on gravelly soils that drained effectively during the wet spring. Margaux is more variable. On the Right Bank, it’s a Merlot vintage only for those with the nerves (and the vineyard work) to wait. Pomerol is solid but less flamboyant than recent years, while St-Émilion was more mixed, with limestone-based sites faring best.

Sauternes is limited but excellent in quality, with botrytis arriving late but clean. Dry whites from Pessac-Léognan and the Graves are particularly crisp and aromatic, likely some of the standout wines of the vintage. Alcohol levels are down across the board, as are pHs, so there’s great freshness — and lower yields in many places due to poor flowering or late mildew pressure.

Overall, 2024 Bordeaux is a return to classicism, with great terroirs and disciplined producers making wines of refinement, not richness.