Wine Spectator Score: 96

Region: Bordeaux

District: Saint Emilion

Type: Still Wine

Color: Red

Varietal: Red Bordeaux

Vintage: 2009

Futures Item: Yes

Available: 11

Brand: See more from Chateau Canon-la-Gaffeliere

Sku: 132446

Price: $209.99

Quantity:   

Wine Spectator Review:
This is well-cloaked for now in roasted vanilla and espresso notes, but theres ample, fleshy fig sauce and mulled blackberry fruit in reserve. The finish sports a long melted licorice snap feel. Dense, but beautifully polished and pure. For the cellar. Best from 2015 through 2030.

Parker Review:
Proprietor Stephan von Neipperg has made so many terrific wines at this estate since the late 1980s, its hard to say that the 2009 is going to turn out to be the finest, but did it show well on the four separate times I tasted it! A final blend of 55% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, and a whopping 10% Cabernet Sauvignon (somewhat unusual for this area of St.-Emilion), the natural alcohol was 14%. Stephane Derenoncourt is the long-time wine consultant at all of Stephan von Neippergs estates. Yields were shockingly low here, 28 hectoliters per hectare, and the wine is a beauty of both elegance and power. Dark ruby/purple, with notes of incense, sweet cedar, black cherry jam, cassis, and blackberry as well as licorice and subtle smoke, this wine has superb texture, a full-bodied mouthfeel, stunning concentration, and not a hard edge to be found. It is one of those remarkable 2009s with amazing power and density, but also tremendous finesse, precision, and freshness, an anomaly in itself. This wine should drink well for 15-20 years, based on the fact that the 1990, a vintage far lower in acidity and not nearly as concentrated, is still at the top of its game. Bravo! 94-96 points.

Other Notes:
this is a blend of 55% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, matured in 90% new oak, the bouquet takes a great deal of coaxing from the glass, reluctantly offereing blackberry, raspberry coulis, a scent of wet clay and mulberry. The palate is full-bodied with firm tannins, off-dry, good weight in the mouth and fine definition, perhaps a little more austere than I anticipated but I like that (the coolness of the sample accentuating the tannins here.) A touch of savoury fruit towards the grainy finish, very good length and harmony, the pH plays a fundamental role in balancing the finish and engendering such freshness. Excellent. 93-95 points, Neal Martin