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Canon la Gaffelière 2016

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot

Stefan Von Neipperg's Canon la Gaffeliere was one of the first vineyards where winemaker Stephane Derenoncourt made his mark. Modern in style but not overblown or jammy.

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Label

Tasting Notes

The 2016 Canon la Gaffeliere has a deep garnet color. It bursts on the scene with exuberant notes of juicy blackberries, plum preserves, and fruit cake, plus suggestions of clove oil, mocha, and Indian spices. The full-bodied palate is full-on rich and decadent, featuring velvety tannins and just enough freshness to match the concentrated black fruit and spicy layers, finishing with epic length.

98
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, December 2022

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
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2019

Another successful wine in St-Émilion, with the signature of careful extraction. Well-brushed black fruits and a lovely push-and-pull effect between supple tannins, rich fruits and fresh acidity. Certified organic since the 2014 vintage.

Drinking Window 2027 - 2045

93
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, April 2017

Bright dark crimson. Smooth and sweet – in fact almost cocoa flavoured. Mouth-filling. Not all that much tannin but a very pleasurable drink. No rough edges. Hint of pencil shavings on the end.
Drink 2024-2040

17-
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, May 2018

One of the most elegant and seamless wines in the vintage is the 2016 Canon-la-Gaffelière, a blend of 55% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon brought up in 60% new French oak. This medium to full-bodied beauty has brilliant minerality as well as tons of cassis fruits, notions of spice box, cedarwood, licorice, and dried earth, silky tannins, no hard edges, and a great, great finish. It shows the purity and elegance of the vintage to a T. Drink this fabulous Saint-Emilion any time over the coming 20+ years. 2019 - 2039.

95
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, February 2019

The fruit is sweet and ripe the nose has depth the mid palate generosity. There is a balancing freshness bramble in the middle but it fills out at the back with some sweet rich fruit on the finish. 2025-36

88/92
Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, April 2017

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

94
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2017
Read more tasting notes...

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

93/95
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (230), April 2017

Lovely silky texture and dark fruit to this wine underlining richness and decadence. Medium to full body and a long finish.

95/96
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2017

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

17
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2017
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.