Wine Advisor
Canon La Gaffeliere 2011
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Probably the flagship estate of visionary Stephan von Neipperg, the 2011 Canon La Gaffeliere is less exotic and open-knit than usual, but it exhibits beautiful notes of black currants, licorice, camphor and forest floor. A burgeoning complexity as well as medium to full body and well-integrated wood are found in this pure beauty. Drink it over the next 10-12 years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Cropped between 15th and 30th September at 30hl/ha, the Canon-la-Gaffeliere has a surprisingly closed bouquet compared to the Clos de l’Oratoire with faint red berry and fish scale aromas. The palate is more in the mould of Canon-la-Gaffeliere with plush tannins and velvety mouthfeel, although it is missing some weight at the back end at the moment. Perhaps this will be filled is during maturation? We will see. Tasted April 2012.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
From the flagship estate of visionary Stephan von Neipperg, I noticed some sample variations on the four occasions I had this wine. Cropped at 33 hectoliters per hectare with a final blend of 60% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is generally a fruit-forward style of wine with an exotic, perfumed personality. The 2011 reveals a soft, sexy style with lots of Christmas fruitcake notes intermixed with cedarwood, spice box, black currants and kirsch. Fleshy and fat with impressive purity, texture and length, it can be enjoyed over the next 10-14 years.
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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