Château Canon-La-Gaffelière Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2015 | WS #2 Wine of 2018
96WS | #2 WINE OF THE YEAR* Still youthfully tight and backward, with a well-roasted frame of alder and juniper holding sway for now, but the core of cassis, blackberry, and plum fruit waits in reserve, showing prodigious depth. When the toast and fruit melds, the backdrop of tobacco, singed iron, and chalky minerality will get a turn to show. So, there’s a lot here. Built for the cellar. Château Canon-La-Gaffelière Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2015 is best from 2025 through 2040.
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97RP | Composed of 55% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Franc and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged in French oak, 55% new, for 17 months, the 2015 Canon la Gaffeliere features a deep garnet-purple color and a cedar-laced nose to begin, giving way to fragrant underlying scents of roses and violets with a core of crushed black currants, blackberries and Bing cherries plus hints of fallen leaves and dusty earth. Medium to full-bodied, the seductively perfumed red and black fruit fills the mouth, framed with plush tannins and plenty of freshness. Château Canon-La-Gaffelière Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2015 finishes very long and minerally.
More Accolades
97AG | The Château Canon-La-Gaffelière Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2015 is deep, powerful and explosive. While seamless and captivating in the glass, it possesses magnificent richness, volume, and intensity in every dimension. Yet the Cabernet Franc, usually such a strong signature, is nearly buried by the sheer intensity of the Merlot fruit. Espresso, mocha, licorice, and plum infuse the racy finish. The 2015 is going to need the better part of a decade to be expressive. Tasted two times.
Count Stephan von Neipperg
So Count Stephan von Neipperg is among the Right Bank’s most fascinating and charismatic characters. While of the six châteaux he owns, the most famous is Saint-Émilion’s Premier Grand Cru Classé Château Canon-la-Gaffelière. Although a stone’s throw from the legendary Château Ausone, these 48 acres at the foot of a slope are comprised of complex sandy, clay, and limestone soils that have produced brilliant wines since the 17th century.
