Lying below Ausone and Magdelaine on the lower half of the slope below the historic village of St. Emilion are the 20 hectares of the small, unknown Château Gaillard. In spite of being in the Nouvel family since 1787, it was not until the young, dynamic Catherine Papon-Nouvel returned with an Oenology (or Œnology) degree from Bordeaux University that her father relinquished control of the estate. Dragged from obscurity by her determination to estate-bottle the vineyards' production rather than sell to the local cooperative (or coöperative) as her father had done, Château Gaillard is now committed to excellence, with 1996 being Catherine's first vintage.

She began a careful regimen of lower yields (only 45hl/ha in 1997) through careful pruning and a vendange verte. New stainless steel fermentation tanks gleam in the chais, and quite a few new oak barrels are in evidence. Vinification is typical: destemming followed by a four-week cuvaison at temperatures up to 33ºC. Following fermentation, the wine is transferred to oak barrels (33% new) for malolactic and 15 months of aging before bottling at the château.

A thoughtful and reflective young woman, Catherine has taken her Masters of Oenology from Bordeaux and applied it to the family domaine with tremendous success. Hand-harvesting, natural yeast fermentation, and minimal fining and filtration are reflected in the wine's superb character. Deep ruby with flashes of purple, hints of cedar and toasty, sweet oak combine with lush, velvety, black-fruit flavors. Substantial but ripe tannins give structure to a deep, complex wine that drinks boldly now but has obvious and superb potential. Slightly firmer in structure than the 1998, with rather more depth and supple, juicy extract, the 1999 shows a more complex nose and promises to be longer lived.

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