Wine Advisor
Canon La Gaffeliere 2010
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Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. For a Saint Emilion, this seems to have a more classic, reserved bouquet that is well defined and crisp. There is a lot of energy here, very lifted with wet limestone percolating through the black fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, spicy red berry fruit and a harmonious, silky texture. There is prudent extraction rendering this Canon-la-Gaffeliere very approachable in style, but perhaps without quite the structure on the elegant finish. Tasted January 2014.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
One of the first to work with the now famous Stephane Derenoncourt, proprietor Stephan von Neipperg continues to fashion some of the most consistently outstanding wines in Bordeaux. This 2010, a blend of 55% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon made from tiny yields of 28 hectoliters per hectare, achieved 14.5% natural alcohol – perhaps the highest Canon La Gaffeliere has ever achieved. Dense, sweet, open-knit black cherry, licorice, incense and cassis aromas soar from the glass of this opaque purple-colored offering. Full-bodied, pure and undeniably sexy yet larger-scaled than normal, this beautiful wine should drink well for 15 or more years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A blend of 55% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, the Canon-la-Gaffeliere is demonstrating better delineation on the nose than the Clos l'Oratoire with scents of black cherry, blueberry and dried apricot (reminds me of Jaffa Cakes!) The palate is full-bodied with very dense, almost oppressive tannins, a much more tannic Canon-la-Gaffliere than recent vintages, powerful and burly on the finish. This will require several years in bottle. Drink 2018- Tasted March 2011.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the Union de Grand Cru in London. Comparing this next to the Canon, the Canon-la-Gaffeliere is patently much more opulent and modern in style with luscious dark berry fruit, bay and hints of truffle. The palate is full-bodied with sweet ripe fleshy mulberry and dark plum, hints of fig and white pepper towards the gregarious finish. It is a lovely, unashamedly exotic Saint Emilion. Tasted November 2012.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This wine shows wonderfully exotic tapenade, licorice, Christmas fruitcake, cedar wood, blackberry and sweet cherry notes in its strikingly provocative aromatics. On the palate, the wine is dense and full-bodied, with stunning concentration, purity, texture and length. It is full-bodied, silky smooth and seems to have more in common with the 2009 than one might expect, although the freshness and tannin levels are slightly more elevated. Drink it over the next 20+ years. An absolutely spectacular success once again from proprietor Stephan von Niepperg. Gilles Pauquet is the consultant and has done an exemplary job with this particular estate.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Canon la Gaffeliere delivers classic plum preserves, boysenberries and cigar box scents with wafts of underbrush, dried roses and cinnamon stick. Full-bodied, the palate is built like a brick house with a solid line of grainy tannins and racy freshness supporting the dense fruit, finishing with compelling purity and great length.
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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