"The aromas are very complex with sweet tobacco, black truffles, blueberries and blackberries. Subtle. Menthol, too. Full-bodied yet so elegant. Structure with finesse and purity. The tannins are melted in the wine. Fabulous young wine. Try tasting it from 2023."
96 Points, JamesSuckling.com
"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"
96 Points, Antonio Galloni
"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"
94 Points, Vinous
St.-Émilion is the star of Bordeaux’s Right Bank, north of the Dordogne River. The rich red wines produced in St.-Émilion, based on Merlot and Cabernet Franc, are less tannic and generally more fruit-driven in flavour than the Cabernet-based wines of Left Bank. Merlot thrives on the plateaus high above the Dordogne, where the soil is filled with sand and clay, a perfect medium for creating opulent, fruit-forward wines. With a typically savoury character, St.-Émilion wines are sometimes called the “Burgundies of Bordeaux.” These refined reds, with loads of finesse, are elegant companions to beef, chicken, pork and duck.
The wines of St.-Émilion were not included in the famous 1855 classification of Bordeaux, which ranked wines of the Left Bank. In 1955, St.-Émilion published its own classification, based on soil analysis, wine quality and reputation of the properties. Unlike the 1855 classification, St.-Emilion’s system requires properties to continuously prove themselves. The list is revised regularly, most recently in 2012. There are two tiers within the classification, Premier Grand Cru Classé and Grand Cru Classé. There are currently just 18 Premier Grand Cru properties and 64 Grand Cru Classé properties.
The St.-Émilion appellation is home to hundreds of individual producers, enhancing the variety of wines made there. Many of the properties remain small, family-run enterprises, unlike the large châteaux of the Left Bank. The area is also the base of France’s controversial micro-châteaux or garagiste wine movement; these innovative winemakers operate outside the traditional classification system, making very high quality (and very expensive) highly extracted wines.
Chateau Canon la Gaffelière
Chateau Canon la Gaffelière is a Grand Cru Classé Chateau in the St Emilion appellation of Bordeaux. Owned by Count Léo de Malet Roquefort, the estate is located in the centre of the St. Emilion appellation with 25 ha of vineyards that lie at the base of the Cotes on flat, sandy gravel soils overlying clay sub soils. The vineyards are planted to 55% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Meticulous work in the vineyard and winery has seen a notable resurgence in quality in recent years.
