Canon La Gaffeliere

Château Canon La Gaffelière

Classification: Grand Cru
Château Canon La Gaffeliere covers 49 acres on southern slopes of the hills over looking the medieval town of St Emilion known as the Pieds de Côtes. The Château takes its name from the surrounding land which housed a leper colony in the 17th century. Wine making at the Château goes back millennia and the remains of Roman mosaics depicting the planting of vines have been found in the clay-limestone and sandy soil on the estate. Originally owned by the Comte de Malets-Roqueforts the Château was purchased by Joseph-Hubert, Graf von Neipperg in 1971 and today his son, Count Stephan von Neipperg, owns the estate. The von Neipperg Counts are descendants of Fanconian nobility and have 8 centuries of wine making tradition behind them having first planted vines on their estates in the 13th century. Count Stephan is one of the most influential of Bordeaux's present day proprietors and he has achieved this through a ceaseless quest for quality.

In 1996 Count Stephan hunted out an unorthodox wine maker – Stéphane Derenoncourt – who had come to Bordeaux as a teenage hitch hiker, fell in love with it and worked grape picking in the vineyards. Derenoncourt was offered the chance to work in the cellar at   Château Pavie Macquin and the vintage he was responsible for in 1993 was such a success that Stephan tracked him down and asked to come and work for him. It was a risk – but 15 years later some reckon Dereroncourt is now the most sensitive vinifier in the whole of Bordeaux and is tipped to be the next Michael Rolland with clients from Seattle to Bangalore.

The vineyards of Château Canon La Gaffeliere  lie on sandy clay and limestone soils. Biodynamic techniques, ecologically sound vineyard practices and homoeopathic treatments that do not endanger wildlife allow the wine to fully and naturally express the terroir. The average age of the vines is 45 years old and the grapes grown are 55% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon – the Cabernet Franc is a strong determining factor in the character of the wine.

Wine Style
The wines of Château Canon La Gaffeliere are remarkably well structured and very elegant, with a long after taste. They exemplify the care and quest for perfection that go into the wine making process. They have a perfumed bouquet of spice, plum and sweet preserved fruits. They are intense wines with a velvet like mouth feel and age well.

Owner: Count Stephan von Neipperg (also owns  Châteaux Clos de l'Oratorie, d'Aguilhe, La Mondotte and Peyrau)
Château Website: www.canon-la-gaffeliere.com
Oenologist: S Derenoncourt