Wine Advisor
Canon La Gaffeliere 1999
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Dense purple-colored, with low acidity, this thick, concentrated 1999 reveals aromas of melted licorice, charcoal, prunes, black and blue fruits, and toasty new oak in its multidimensional bouquet. However, low acidity gives the wine a certain fragility and loss of delineation, yet its powerful finish buttresses the wine with a strong, tannic backbone. Impressive from a size perspective, but not yet revealing the precision found in the 1998 or lighter 1997, the 1999 should become outstanding, but there is a slight reservation, as evidenced by the question mark. Anticipated maturity: 2002-2014.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A crunchy stalky nose with scents of cranberry and cherry. Understated on the palate which has soft, understated entry, but is beautifully balanced with good acidity. Very approachable style. Excellent. Tasted May 2001.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
A terrific effort, this opaque blue/purple-colored 1999 offers notes of melted asphalt, espresso, chocolate, blackberries, prunes, Asian spices, and new oak. Sexy, with low acidity, and a plump, fat, hedonistic style, it can be drunk upon its release and over the following 14-15 years.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Canon La Gaffeliere's opaque purple-colored 1999 is a strong effort for this vintage. It displays a sweet nose of pain grille, smoke, meats, graphite, blackberry, and cassis liqueur. The wine is full-bodied, deep, powerful, and rich, with sweet tannin and low acidity. This is a blockbuster effort for a delicate vintage such as 1999. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2016.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Good medium ruby. Aromas of plum, currant, game and leather. Silky-sweet and aromatic in the mouth, with lovely vinosity to frame the expressive flavors of roasted plum, currant, black cherry, minerals and dark chocolate. Firmly structured but quite suave, with fine tannins and very good length. Impressive for the vintage.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Ruby-red. Aromas of roasted plum, leather, nuts and minerals. Thick, lush and deep, with lovely retention of fresh fruit and a burnished richness. Quite full in the mouth for a '99. Finishes with mellow tannins and noteworthy persistence. Both this and the '99 La Mondotte have been racked only once to date (microbullage is used to provide minimal oxygenation, as needed).
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright deep ruby. Ripe aromas of plum syrup, blackberry and smoky oak. Juicy and delineated yet offers a sensual texture thanks to rather low acidity; very fresh floral and cassis flavors. Tongue-dusting tannins are nicely supported by middle-palate extract. A wine with this much cabernet franc requires some time to knit, points out von Neipperg. Still, this is showing well today.
About the Producer
Château Canon La Gaffelière is a well-regarded Premier Grand Cru Classé wine estate in the Saint-Émilion region of northeastern Bordeaux. The château is known for the elegance and finesse of its wines as much as it is for its owner: Count Stephan von Neipperg. The estate and château lies just south of Saint-Émilion town and was promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé 2012. Canon La Gaffelière's 19.5-hectare (48-acre) vineyard is a mix of clay-limestone and clay-sand soils, with predominantly sandy topsoils. These characteristics are well-suited to the grape varieties planted here with the vineyards composed of 55 percent Merlot, 40 percent Cabernet Franc and 5 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. At harvest, the grapes are hand-harvested and destemmed without crushing, then fermented in temperature-controlled wooden vats. They are then aged in mostly new oak barrels for up to 20 months. The Canon La Gaffelière estate began as two separate holdings in the 19th Century: Canon Boitard and La Gaffelière Boitard. They were eventually combined, and then acquired by the Von Neipperg family in 1971. Current proprietor Count Stephan von Neipperg also owns La Mondotte, Clos de L'Oratoire and Château Peyreau in Saint-Émilion, plus a handful of other estates around Bordeaux.
1971(1)1981(1)1982(1)1990(1)1996(1)
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