Ch. Canon La Gaffeliere
Premier Grand Cru Classé B
Saint Emilion
2015

The producer

Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere is located in the heart of the Saint-Emilion appellation, due south of the town, and was acquired by Comte von Neipperg in 1969. The Von Neipperg family still owns the estate today. 20 hectares of vineyards are spread in various plots around the estate and are planted with 55% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.

The vine age on average is 40 years, but some vines are up to 80 years old. Vineyards are farmed according to organic methods, and were certified in 2014. Canon La Gaffeliere is classified as as Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe.

The wine

The grape blend for Canon La Gaffeliere’s Grand Vin varies with fruit ripeness and vintage conditions but generally consists of 55% Merlot with 40% Cabernet Franc and a soupcon of Cabernet Sauvignon. Vines are on average 40 years old, but some are as old as 80 years. Whole-bunch fermentation in temperature controlled wooden vats is followed by malolactic fermentation in new oak barrels and finally extended oak barrel ageing – up to 18 months – in up to 50% new oak barrels. The wines are stylish and concentrated with floral and earthy complexity and firm velvety tannins.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.