Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe 2019 (750ml)

 

Rated 97 Points by Jeb Dunnuck

 

The 2019 Château Canon-La-Gaffelière is another brilliantly perfumed wine in the vintage that shines for its complexity, finesse, and nuances.  Giving up awesome notes of red and black currants, tobacco, exotic flowers, cedarwood, and loamy earth, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, beautifully polished, integrated tannins, no hard edges, and a great, great finish.  This is serious juice that warrants at least 4-5 years of bottle age and will evolve for 30 to 40 years.  Best after 2026.

 

Rated 96 Points by James Suckling

 

Blackberry, chocolate and hazelnut aromas and flavors.  It’s medium-to full-bodied with polished, juicy tannins that give a dusty texture to the intense, rich finish.  A traditional, classically structured and styled red.  Barrel Sample: 95-96

 

Rated 96 Points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

 

The 2019 Canon la Gaffelière has turned out brilliantly, bursting from the glass with a dramatic bouquet of wild berries, blood orange, exotic spices, rose petals, violets and burning embers.  Full-bodied, ample and layered, it's supple and perfumed, with a deep core of lively fruit, melting tannins and a long, saline finish.  This contains the highest proportion of Cabernet Franc of any of Stephan Von Neipperg's wines, which no doubt helps to account for its singular personality.  Best after 2025.

 

Rated 95 Points by Decanter

 

I love the balance on display here, of powerful and softly whispering fruits, a tightrope of acidity and tannins giving structure.  Great stuff, with the impact of 2018 but more freshness, although still with the signature glamour of a Neipperg wine in full flight.  Barrel Sample: 95

 

Rated 94 Points by Vinous

 

The 2019 Canon La Gaffelière bides its time in the glass, tightly wound at first, then unfurling to reveal vivacious red berries, crushed violet and light iodine aromas that are all exquisitely defined.  The palate is medium-bodied with sappy red fruit and perfectly judged acidity, seamless and harmonious.  It gently builds with just the right amount of sapidity on the finish.  Is this among the best Canon-la-Gaffelière ever made?  Most definitely.  (NM)

 

Rated 94 Points by Wine Spectator

 

Pepper, bay and roasted tobacco notes give this a distinct persona out of the gate, while sous bois and mulled plum, black currant and black cherry fruit flavors fill in behind.  Singed juniper and alder hints add form through the finish.  Serious kudos for its range and character, but may be a touch too old school for some folks.  Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Best from 2024.

 

Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere

 

Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe 2019

 

Composition:  Merlot (49%), Cabernet Franc (39%), Cabernet Sauvignon (12%).

 

The Winemaking

Harvest from September 19 to October 7.  Vinification in oak vats.  Extraction by pneumatic punch-downs.  Fermentation for 35 days.

 

The Aging

Aging in new French oak barrels (60%).  Aging on fine lees.

 

 

Château Canon La Gaffelière

 

Château Canon La Gaffelière is the pride and joy of the well-respected von Neipperg family in Saint-Émilion.  The estate was classified as a Saint-Émillion Premiere Grand Cru Classés Class B in 2012 after decades of hard work.  The wine of Château Canon La Gaffelière is powerful, complex and dense.  Since 2014, the scores of this property are on the steady climb, and these multi-layered, perfumed, richly concentrated wines are a worthy purchase for any oenophile who loves to experience the choicest offerings of Saint-Émilion.
 
Château Canon La Gaffelière initially had two separate names in the 19th Century.  The property was once known as Canon Boitard and La Gaffelière-Boitard.  The early owners decided to simplify things by combining the names and thus, Château Canon La Gaffelière was born.  The real history of the estate began when the Von Neipperg family purchased the property in 1971.  The von Neipperg family is a well-known German family of vignerons in the wine world.  They have been involved in viticulture for 800 years, making wine in Germany since the 13th Century.  The von Neippergs began to purchase land in Saint-Émilion in 1983 and devoted themselves to each property they acquired.  Terroir is the most important philosophy for this family of winemakers, and though each property they own subscribes to similar vinification and viticultural practices, the wines are all strikingly different.  Château Canon La Gaffelière is their main production while Château La Mondotte is their more coveted sister property due to the much smaller size.  They firmly believe if one shows respect to the land and vineyards, the wine will reflect that.  Clearly, they are doing something right.
 
The terroir at Château Canon La Gaffelière is a mixture of clay, sand and limestone soils that are signature to the Right Bank region.  It’s a bit warmer in this portion of Saint-Émilion, and the clay here is signature to retaining heat and assisting in ripening the vines.  The vineyards at Château Canon La Gaffelière are a mixture of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon.  Though the von Neippergs acknowledge that Merlot is the star of the Right Bank, they also have a profound respect for Cabernet Franc and the layers it brings to the wines from this region.  This carries through in the grand vin of Château Canon La Gaffelière, for there is no shortage of complexity in this wine.
 
The viticultural practices over at Château Canon La Gaffelière are all about sustainable farming.  Here, organic compost is used with a mixture of regular ploughing to help with aeration.  From some plots in Château Canon La Gaffelière, the legendary property Château Ausone can be seen.  The grapes are 100% Organically Certified, and some of the oldest vines on the property are 80 years old.  The grapes are harvested by hand, and the wine is vinified in a gravity flow winery.  The wine of Château Canon La Gaffelière does require at least 10-15 years bottle ageing due to its complexity.  It needs that time to lay down and reveal the gorgeously floral secondary characteristics associated with this profound wine. 

 

 

Rated 94 Points by Wine Spectator

 

Pepper, bay and roasted tobacco notes give this a distinct persona out of the gate, while sous bois and mulled plum, black currant and black cherry fruit flavors fill in behind.  Singed juniper and alder hints add form through the finish.  Serious kudos for its range and character, but may be a touch too old school for some folks.  Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Best from 2024.