Château Canon la Gaffelière, 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion, 2009
Stephan von Neipperg’s wines are impressive and modern, but will not be to everyone's taste. The 2009 Canon la Gaffelière is quite jammy and overworked, but there are hints of pretty berries and pure silky fruit. The fruit is sweet, fresh and quite impressive, but one's overall impression is that this is a bit Porty.
critic reviews
Beautiful autumnal leaf and old book aromatics, super charming with ripe brambled and pureed red and black fruits, touches of soy, cinnamon, smoked earth and sea spray that speaks of the limestone impact. Great quality, a little more evolved than expected.
The 2009 Canon-la-Gaffelière is a little loose-knit on the nose, perhaps showing a little brettanomyces, rather animally in style. The palate is medium-bodied with gently gripping tannin, quite solid with good density, the second half more introspective than the first with black fruit, cedar, graphite and tobacco notes. This is a serious Right Bank 2009 and, though it showed more promise three years ago, it should age well over the next decade. Tasted blind at Farr Vintners’ 2009 Bordeaux tasting.