Wine Advisor
Canon La Gaffeliere 2000
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at Chateau Branaire-Ducru. Not having tasted this millennial Canon-la-Gaffeliere, it is pleasing to see how this has developing. The nose is a little more advanced than I was expecting with touches of mulberry, steaming espresso and singed leather infusing the red-berried underlay. Good definition and it gains intensity in the glass. The palate is structured, peppery, developing an animally note like other vintages, just a little foursquare than I was anticipating towards the finish since it was far more opulent and voluptuous in its youth. Still, this is a very impressive Saint Emilion that has one finger on its drinking plateau. Drink now-2020. Tasted April 2009.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at Bordeaux Index’s 2000 tasting in London. This is deeper in colour than Belair 2000, broader and fleshier on the nose with blackberry, black plum and a touch of graphite. It displays very fine definition and clarity, signalling intense fruit to come on the palate. The palate is medium-bodied, wonderful balance and poise, the glass left for five minutes (whilst chatting!) and mellowing/coalescing. The slight hardness mellows nicely, well-integrated oak and very focused towards the finish with great persistency. Excellent. Drink 2012-2030. Tasted March 2010.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This is a triumphant 2000, flamboyant, super-concentrated, yet classic in proportions. Lavish notes of roasted espresso, melted chocolate, creme de cassis, toasty new oak, and Asian spices jump from the glass of this sensationally perfumed, rather ostentatious 2000. It is enormously concentrated and pure, with low acidity and exquisite balance. Remarkably, in spite of its large size, viscosity, and opulence, it is fresh and delineated. Potentially the finest Canon-la-Gaffeliere made to date, this impeccably made wine will drink well between 2006-2022.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Formidable notes of roasted espresso, melted chocolate, creme de cassis, toasty new oak, and Asian spices jump from the glass of this sensationally perfumed, flamboyant 2000. It is enormously concentrated and pure, with low acidity, and exquisite balance. Remarkably, in spite of its large size, viscosity, and opulence, it is fresh and delineated. Potentially the finest Canon La Gaffeliere made to date, this classic will drink well between 2006-2022. Planted with 55% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, this 48-acre vineyard's vines average 40 years. Canon La Gaffeliere has been doing everything right since the late eighties. It practices all the modern techniques espoused by St.-Emilion's wine gurus, Stephane Derenoncourt, Michel Rolland, etc. - malolactic in barrel, micro-oxygenation, tiny yields, aging on its lees, and bottling after 14-16 months in 100% new oak with neither fining nor filtration.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
At en primeur: an intense, almost port-like nose. Well-structured with fine balance and poise. Quite minerally with well-integrated oak. A very classy wine this year. Later at the UGC in November 2002: deep ruby. Closed nose. Cranberry. Quite oaky. Very tannic and austere and is certainly at an adolescent stage. Unattractive nose but this is a heavyweight St. Emilion. Hope the tannins are not too coarse and thick. Needs long time. Tasted November 2002.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Performing as I expected, but still several years away from full maturity, this extraordinarily flamboyant, full-bodied, opulent, sexy St. Emilion stood out for its backward structure and youthful personality. A dark plum/garnet hue is followed by a superb bouquet of roasted coffee, kirsch, blackberries, licorice, herbs, and forest floor. Full-bodied, dense, rich, and pure, it is a total hedonistic as well as intellectual turn-on. Enjoy it over the next decade.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Under the Comte de Neipperg, this property has produced many fabulous wines over recent vintages. While it is difficult to pick a favorite, the 2000 is unquestionably one of the greatest Canon La Gaffelieres yet produced. The concentration levels are phenomenal (a strongpoint for all the Comtes de Neipperg offerings, including Clos l'Oratoire and the ultimate garage wine, La Mondotte). The opaque blue/purple-colored 2000 Canon La Gaffelieres offers a fabulous perfume of roasted espresso, chocolate fudge, jammy blackberry and cassis fruit, smoke, vanillin, licorice, and Asian spices. It possesses terrific viscosity, an enormously concentrated mouthfeel, yet good freshness as well as delineation, multiple layers of flavor, and a spectacular blockbuster finish. This is a profoundly great wine! Anticipated maturity: 2002-2020.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2000 Canon-la-Gaffelière, aged in 90% new oak for 18 months without fining, is a vintage that I have had several times since tasting it from barrel. The nose has mellowed and softened in recent years, now offering mulberry, singed leather, tea leaf and just a hint of wild mint. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and plenty of red fruit, here laced with white pepper, tobacco and a touch of muskiness toward the finish. This was always impressive in its flush of youth and remains so in full maturity. I would drink bottles over the next 10 years.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Moderately saturated ruby-red. Knockout superripe nose combines red- and blackcurrant, mocha, smoked meat and chocolatey torrefaction. Sweet and dense, but also lively and penetrating, with superb freshness of fruit for the vintage; showing little sign of its 13.5% alcohol. Pliant flavors of cherry, spice, tobacco and flowers. Finishes impressively long, with very fine tannins. Owner von Neipperg noted that most of the cabernet franc here was planted prior to 1953; a good bit of merlot was planted in 1969, with more going in in 1986.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Full medium ruby. Deep aromas of black raspberry, black cherry, smoked meat, espresso and bitter chocolate. Wonderfully sweet and pliant, with the richness and density of the vintage's best examples. Flavors of currant, black raspberry and chocolate are kept firm and fresh by slightly medicinal black cherry and shoe polish notes and solid underlying minerality. Finishes very long and ripely tannic, with a late burst of black cherry flavor.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Full ruby. High-pitched aromas of redcurrant, black raspberry, spices, flowers and nuts. Sweet and silky but juicy and vinous, with lovely harmonious acidity keeping the very concentrated flavors fresh. This boasts excellent balance; the very long finish features broad, tooth-dusting tannins that build with aeration but avoid dryness.
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.
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