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This was one of the successes at the Union des Grands Crus tasting. It has a dense purple colour, and is full of ripe plum flavours, leaning even as far as prunes. The palate is accented by some sour black cherry freshness, and the chunky tannins give it a well-built structure. CP
This was one of the successes at the Union des Grands Crus tasting. It has a dense purple colour, and is full of ripe plum flavours, leaning even as far as prunes. The palate is accented by some sour black cherry freshness, and the chunky tannins give it a well-built structure. CP
The 2016 Canon La Gaffelière has an outstanding, very detailed and complex bouquet of cedar-tinged black fruit and touches of truffle, almost Graves-like in style. The palate is medium-bodied with sweet ripe tannin and rounded in the mouth. The new oak is quite conspicuous at the moment, though it should be fully assimilated with bottle age. This wine is driven by the Cabernet Franc, at one of the highest percentages in recent years, lending a great deal of freshness. Give this five or six years in bottle. A fabulous Canon-la-Gaffelière. 2022 - 2045
The 2016 Canon la Gaffeliere is a blend of 55% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon (vines organically certified) picked from 26 September to 15 October and matured in 60% new oak. The yield is 42 hectoliters per hectare. This offers one of the most cerebral aromatics that I have encountered from this Saint Emilion estate: mineral-rich red and black fruit, quite edgy, almost flinty in style. I adore the focus of these aromas that are wired directly into the olfactory senses. The palate is very well balanced and governed by the Cabernet component. The black fruit is lifted by some lovely graphite notes that lend it a very Left Bank-like personality. It is fresh, taut and linear with a very persistent finish. Unlike other vintages of Canon la Gaffelière, I feel that this will require four to five years in bottle. As good as the 2015 last year, it might even surpass it. Drink Date 2023 - 2050
The 2016 Canon La Gaffelière is just as striking from bottle as it was from barrel. Bright, intensely aromatic and precise, the 2016 has it all. Sweet red cherry, pomegranate, blood orange and rose petal all race through this silky, super-expressive Saint-Émilion. In 2016, Canon La Gaffelière is especially polished, refined and nuanced, which means also less overly powerful than in the past. It was compelling both times I tasted it from bottle. 2024 - 2046
The 2016 Canon La Gaffelière is a huge, voluptuous wine with no hard edges and exceptional balance. Often in the early going, the Merlot and Cabernet Franc elements are easily discernible, but in 2016 all the elements are wonderfully fused together. It will be interesting to see if this powerful wine finds a bit more finesse over time. The 2016 was even more impressive when I tasted separate components from barrel in January 2017. In 2016, the wine spent 30-32 days on the skins and will see approximately 60% new oak. Tasted three times.
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A beautiful wine - the nose is heavenly and delicate and yet incredibly persistent and the palate is also medium-weight, smooth and cultured. Very long and very closed this precision organic viticulture perfectly aligned with ‘gentle extraction’ winemaking and the results are sensational.
Dark crimson. Very rich sweet nose slightly reminiscent of the 'modernist' style. Rather thick and heavy. Suffers from being tasted immediately after the superior and sophisticated Ch Canon. Rather drying end. Good effort. Sincere but a tad vieux jeu. Hint of meatiness, then slightly drying tannins but good energy. Drink 2025-2040
Canon La Gaffelière is exploiting a rich vein of form at the moment. This is always wonderfully perfumed and intense, with smoky, floral, cedar wood aromas, fine-grained tannins, subtle red and dark berry fruit, crunchy acidity and real energy. 2023-34
South of Pomerol lies the medieval, perched village of St Emilion. Surrounding St Emilion are vines that produce round, rich and often hedonistic wines. Despite a myriad of soil types, two main ones dominate - the gravelly, limestone slopes that delve down to the valley from the plateau and the valley itself which is comprised of limestone, gravel, clay and sand. Despite St Emilion's popularity today, it was not until the 1980s to early 1990s that attention was brought to this region. Robert Parker, the famous wine critic, began reviewing their Merlot-dominated wines and giving them hefty scores. The rest is history as they say. Similar to the Médoc, there is a classification system in place which dates from 1955 and outlines several levels of quality. These include its regional appellation of St Emilion, St Emilion Grand Cru, St Emilion Grand Cru Classé and St Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé, which is further divided into "A" (Ausone and Cheval Blanc) and "B" (including Angélus, Canon, Figeac and a handful of others). To ensure better accuracy, the classification is redone every 10 years enabling certain châteaux to be upgraded or downgraded depending on on the quality of their more recent vintages.
