First, one of the things that a young engineer learns early in life is to NEVER use a gate valve in throttling service. People do it, but never with good results.
Second, you can buy globe style control valves that are built to class umpty-umph drip tight leakage rates in the dribbles per hour/year/lifetime range, but they always have SOME leakage rate associated with them. As BigInch has so succinctly noted, at some point in its life, the valve seat will get cut, will wear down from its original tolerances, or will just get some trash wedged in it and it won't shut off. Use devices whose only function is to shut off and that are good at it when called on to do so.
rmw