Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Complex aromas and flavors with so much perfume, showing dark cherries and raspberries with cedar and sandalwood character. Stony, salty undertones. Very refined tannins lead to a bright, vivid finish with dried mushrooms. Such class. A blend of 45% cabernet franc, 35% merlot and 20% cabernet sauvignon.
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Vinous
The 2023 Canon La Gaffelière is a powerful, dense wine. In recent years Canon La Gaffelière has been on the more perfumed side, but the 2023 moves in a direction of textural intensity. On the other hand, its balance is compelling. Dark red-toned fruit, pomegranate, spice, blood orange, mint and dried herbs open, but only with great reluctance. Tannins are present but also buried by the fruit. –Antonio Galloni
Barrel Sample: 94-97 -
Jeb Dunnuck
Sporting a medium ruby hue, the 2023 Château Canon-La-Gaffelière is a blend of 45% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon brought up in 40% new French oak. Closed and just hinting at its potential today, it has ripe aromatics of darker cherry fruit as well as some leafy herbs, graphite, and mineral nuances, with more floral nuances emerging with air. It's medium to full-bodied on the palate and beautifully balanced, has good concentration, and a great finish. It shows the Château's more elegantly styled focus today, is perfectly balanced, and is just a gorgeous wine. Hide bottles for 4-5 years, and it will keep for 3 decades.
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Wine Spectator
A plush and inviting style, with a caressing texture that lets plum sauce and boysenberry compote flavors unfurl gently, as singed anise, apple wood and black tea accents emerge steadily through the finish. Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
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Decanter
Rich aromatics on the nose, smells deep and dark with violet tones on the nose. Supple and loads of energy straight away, it’s super bright - lively but also quite lean and mineral - a good burst initially but settles quite quickly with chalky tannins that coat the mouth in a fine powdery layer. A little tight and constricted with the structure taking over the fruity acidity. It’s has some finesse and a really long length filled with mint, bramble herbs, lots of aniseed and liquorice spice. I do like it, doesn't quite have the coherence of some others, a little austere but it’s structured and elegant.
Barrel Sample: 94 -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Canon la Gaffelière offers up aromas of minty berries, plums, pencil shavings, dried herbs and bay leaf, followed by a medium to full-bodied, bright and crunchy palate underpinned by tangy acids and chalky tannins. It's a blend of 35% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Franc and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Barrel Sample: 90-92
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Marked by its historic fortified village—perhaps the prettiest in all of Bordeaux, the St-Émilion appellation, along with its neighboring village of Pomerol, are leaders in quality on the Right Bank of Bordeaux. These Merlot-dominant red wines (complemented by various amounts of Cabernet Franc and/or Cabernet Sauvignon) remain some of the most admired and collected wines of the world.
St-Émilion has the longest history in wine production in Bordeaux—longer than the Left Bank—dating back to an 8th century monk named Saint Émilion who became a hermit in one of the many limestone caves scattered throughout the area.
Today St-Émilion is made up of hundreds of independent farmers dedicated to the same thing: growing Merlot and Cabernet Franc (and tiny amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon). While always roughly the same blend, the wines of St-Émilion vary considerably depending on the soil upon which they are grown—and the soils do vary considerably throughout the region.
The chateaux with the highest classification (Premier Grand Cru Classés) are on gravel-rich soils or steep, clay-limestone hillsides. There are only four given the highest rank, called Premier Grand Cru Classés A (Chateau Cheval Blanc, Ausone, Angélus, Pavie) and 14 are Premier Grand Cru Classés B. Much of the rest of the vineyards in the appellation are on flatter land where the soils are a mix of gravel, sand and alluvial matter.
Great wines from St-Émilion will be deep in color, and might have characteristics of blackberry liqueur, black raspberry, licorice, chocolate, grilled meat, earth or truffles. They will be bold, layered and lush.