2015 Château Canon-la-Gaffelière Premier Grand Cru Classé Saint-Emilion 750 ml

Antonio Galloni’s Vinous scored this 2015 Château Canon-La-Gaffelière 97 points, raving that it is “seamless and captivating in the glass,” and “possesses magnificent richness, volume and intensity in every dimension.” This is simply classic Bordeaux, possessing sumptuous cassis concentration and chalky mineral depth while boasting easily two decades of aging potential. If you’ve been following the critical acclaim over Bordeaux’s historic 2015’s and are looking to secure one of the very best, this is your best shot. Direct from the château cellars in perfect condition and with perfect provenance. 

Count Stephan von Neipperg is among the Right Bank’s most fascinating and charismatic characters. Of the six châteaux he owns, the most famous is Saint-Émilion’s Premier Grand Cru Classé Château Canon-la-Gaffelière. 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.
 
It was here that in the early 1980s, Von Neipperg began putting his forward-thinking ideas into practice, instituting green harvesting, cutting out chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and returning to the principles of organic cultivation in the vineyards. He hired the self-taught flying winemaker Stéphane Derenoncourt, renowned for his work at Château Pavie Macquin and Clos Fourtet. Within years the château established itself at the forefront of the appellation, leading Robert Parker to call Château Canon-la-Gaffelière “one of my favorite St.-Emilions since the late 1980s.”

In 2015, a vintage Wine Advocate called “extraordinary” and “outstanding” in Bordeaux, Canon-la-Gaffelière was the star of Saint-Émilion, earning a pair of 97-point scores from Parker’s publication and Vinous’s Antonio Galloni. The latter critic raved: “Seamless and captivating in the glass, it possesses magnificent richness, volume and intensity in every dimension.”
 
This is one of the wines that sums up everything we love about Bordeaux: tannic power, incredible cellaring potential, sumptuous dark-fruit concentration, a richly perfumed nose. Decant and drink today, or let it gather brooding power over the next 15-20 years