| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
This fragrant, lush, seductive wine offers up plum, Christmas spices and crème de cassis. This dense garnet/purple wine also has loads of blackcurrant and black cherry fruit, terrific aromatics, a full-bodied mouthfeel, beautiful purity, texture, and a long, long finish. Once again, the Comte von Neipperg and his winemaking consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt have hit a home run in this vintage. This beauty is approachable, if not drinkable already, and should continue to evolve for 10-15 years. Drink 2015 - 2030.
The Château Canon-la-Gaffelière 2005 has a gorgeous, voluptuous bouquet with small dark cherries, red plum, star anis and cassis. There is an inviting warmth to this nose, quite audacious but never over-powering. The palate is medium-bodied with a fine line of acidity. This is extremely well balanced, very pure and refined with hints of Asian spice and white pepper furnishing the long finish. There is a sense of completeness to this Saint Emilion and it will continue to give pleasure for 15 or 20 years, maybe longer. Drink 2020 - 2045
Tasted blind. Sweet and juicy. Already a flirtatious, fun drink with good balance and quite a bit of liquorice evolution. 14%
Drink 2014-2025
Medium red. Reticent aromas of red fruits, coffee, roasted meat and mocha; a bit low-toned today. Superripe, sweet and densely packed; large-scaled for a wine from this property but quite closed today, hinting at an almost roasted ripeness. Atypically deep cabernet franc here. Finishes with broad tannins and lovely floral lift, leaving behind a captivating violet perfume in the empty glass. Very unevolved wine, in need of a decade of patience and likely to merit a higher score at its peak.
Came 62nd out of 184 wines
One of the greatest Canon-la-Gaffeliere ever made: big body, complex nose, tannin very deftly extracted without any sharpness, great length. Owes much to the Cabernet Franc content of the blend. Drink from 2015.
For opulence, decadence, and sexiness, this 2005 is hard to resist. One of the vintage’s most flamboyant efforts, it is a gorgeous blend of 55% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. With a stunningly exotic nose of espresso roast, a juicy meat and herb concoction, spice box, chocolate, incense, and copious quantities of sweet, ripe black cherry and blackberry fruit, this full-throttle St.-Emilion exhibits good structure (because of the vintage’s sound acid levels) and high, but velvety tannin. It is a brilliant effort from proprietor Stephan von Neipperg. I would not discount its aging potential as the 1990, which I thought would have a short aging curve, is still going strong at age 18. The 2005 should easily last 20-25 years. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2030
This is one of the strongest efforts from Canon-La-Gaffeliere since their spectacular 1990. Tiny yields of 30 hectoliters per hectare and a final blend of 55% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon have resulted in a wine of exceptional complexity. Aromas of roasted herbs, spice box, sweet and sour cherries, licorice, incense, and black fruits are followed by a wine with tremendous opulence, full body, and moderately high but sweet tannin. Excellent acidity gives precision to this big, but impeccably well-balanced, pure 2005. A brilliant effort, it should be drinkable within 3-4 years of bottling, and will keep for two decades.
The qualitative equal of this estate’s top-notch 2000, 1998, and 1990, the 2005 Canon-La-Gaffeliere is a stunning effort from proprietor Stephan von Neipperg. A blend of 55% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, it possesses complex, fragrant aromas of spice box, black currants, sweet cherries, and licorice. Dense, opulent, full-bodied, pure, and layered, it is an impressively endowed St.-Emilion that should evolve slowly, and last for 15 or more years.
This is very concentrated on the nose, with blackberry and violets. Full-bodied, with masses of tannins and bright fruit. It goes on and on and on. Exceptional
Blackish crimson. Toasty and appetising on the nose. Very rich and broad on the palate with some sweetness and dried-fruit character. Quite dramatic and assertive. 14%
Drink 2018-2035
Great vigour and intensity and, at last, real class! Modern style but not exaggerated. Energy. Quite fine tannins. Neat bracing finish . Quite a lot of ripe tannin underneath.
Very dark, blackish crimson. Mossy, savoury, autumn mulch aromas. Very energetic and opulent and well managed. Intense in terms of colour but lovely smooth, unforced texture. Cool finish. Excellently friendly vintage expression chock full of well-handled ripe fruit. Fine tannins emerge only on the finish. Long. Very clever winemaking. Drink 2012-27
