CHÂTEAU CANON LA GAFFELIÈRE
2014 Grand Cru Saint Emilion
Count Stefan Von Niepperg cuts quite a figure, with his matinee idol looks and old school charm, and his wines are also classically stylish, but far from old-fashioned. Operating now completely organically the results are great. This is meaty and powerful and claret-like. Lovely impressive underlying fruit is beautifully layered and textured. The core is dense and compacted; full of polished, elegant perfectly ripened fruit. Very good.L&S (Apr 2015)
* This is a pre-shipment/primeur offer. All orders are accepted under the TERMS of this offer which differ from the terms of the rest of the site.
The 2014 Canon-la-Gaffelière has a clean and pure bouquet with black cherry and raspberry coulis mixed with rose petal and tobacco scents. The palate is medium-bodied with firm tannin, and gentle grip. This is nicely proportioned with a fresh, marine-like finish that beckons you back for another sip. Another typically refined and succinctly crafted Canon-la-Gaffelière. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. Drinking range: 2020 - 2040 Rating: 92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (Mar 2018)
One of the wines of the vintage, the 2014 Canon La Gaffelière is explosive, lifted and aristocratic in its breeding. Bright Cabernet Franc aromatics give the wine its signature lift and precision. Raspberry jam, rose petal, mint, blood orange, tobacco and pomegranate build slowly on the palate, leading to a super-expressive, finely knit finish. Powerful yet also impeccably refined, the 2014 has it all. The 2014 is 55 % Merlot, 37 % Cabernet Franc and 8 % Cabernet Sauvignon. Don't miss it. Drinking range: 2022 - 2034 Rating: 95+ Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Feb 2017)
Exuberant and explosive, the 2014 Canon La Gaffelière is quite forward in style, yet all the elements seem to come together. An open, exotic bouquet melds into sweet red cherries, plums, spices and dried rose petals. The high percentage of Cabernet Franc gives the wine considerable aromatic lift and tons of personality. Floral and savory Franc notes abound on the super, long finish. The 2014 is 55% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Franc and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon. Rating: 93-96 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2015)
The Château Canon-la-Gaffelière 2014 is a blend of 55% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Franc and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon picked between 25 September to 9 October. Stephan von Neipperg told me that this is the first vintage that the estate is certified organic. Matured in 70% new oak barrels, it has a really quite sensual bouquet with lascivious red cherries and strawberry fruit lavished in new oak that is completely in sync. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp acidity, harmonious as usual. It is not the most sophisticated Canon-la-Gaffelière that you will ever taste, but there is engaging freshness and impressive length here. I suspect it will settle amongst the upper band of my score once in bottle. Very fine. Drinking range: 2018 - 2030 Rating: 90-92 Neal Martin, www.vinous.com (May 2015)
55% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Franc, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon. Organically certified. Zesty, dark fruit nose. Good vineyard expression. Fresh and vibrant on the palate. Tiny, textured tannins. Drinking range: 2022 - 2034 Rating: 90+ James Lawther MW, decanter.com (Apr 2015)
Bright on the nose there is an attractive red fruited freshness. The fruit on the palate feels ripe rich and sweet in the middle quite supple and although fresher at the back there is sweetness on the finish. Drinking range: 2019 - 2028 Rating: 89-92 Derek Smedley MW, www.dereksmedleymw.co.uk (Apr 2015)
Dark healthy-looking blackish crimson. Overripe notes on the nose. Very definitely playing the mass-and-alcohol card but there are slight green notes on the end. Fast fade. Not the way to go. Drinking range: 2021 - 2029 Rating: 15.5 Jancis Robinson OBE MW - www.JancisRobinson.com (Apr 2015)
There is something of a house style to the properties that Stephan von Neipperg owns, but it's a style that's extremely appealing. This organically certified property has made a very smart 2014: deceptively forward, mineral and complex with fruit purity and well integrated oak. Drinking range: 2020 - 2030 Rating: 94 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Apr 2015)
A beautiful and succulent red with blueberry, violets and berries. Full body, long and intense. Extremely integrated. Made from organic grapes. 55% merlot, 36% cabernet franc and 8% cabernet sauvignon. Rating: 93-94 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Mar 2015)
Château Canon La Gaffelière
Château Canon La Gaffelière started out life with two seperate names. It was known as Canon Boitard and La Gaffelière-Boitard in the 19th century. Skipping ahead to modern history, in 1969, Count Joseph-Hubert von Neipperg purchased the Bordeaux wine estate in 1971. The von Neipperg family remain the owners today. Stephan von Neipperg manages the property as well as several other St. Emilion estates owned by the family. The Bordeaux wine property is located south of the St. Emilion village. It’s not far from La Gaffeliere. The terroir is sand and clay. The sandy topsoil adds more sand when you travel further from the slopes. The slope soil has a large concentration of clay. There is also a thick vein of clay in the subsoil, at a depth of between 70 and 150 cm.
Please make sure that you have read the terms of this offer which are different from those of the main website. If you are unclear as to what is involved in primeur purchases please do call us, but see the 'practical notes' below.
Ordering
Prices are per case as listed 'in bond London'.
Pre-Orders are a firm commitment from you to buy the wines you order on release, subject to the price being below the upper price of the estimated band on our website. You may also set your own upper price limit, lower or higher than ours. Pre-orders will be fulfilled subject to availability. Providing this firm commitment to us effectively gives you priority.
Wines listed on the website (after any pre-orders and allocations have been fulfilled) can be ordered in the usual way via the website order form or by email or telephone 020 7221 1982, always subject to stock remaining.
Confirmation
All orders will be confirmed by email and are contractually binding unless written cancellation is received within seven days of the confirmation date, apart from pre-orders which are binding if the release price is below the top estimate or other price you have set.
Invoices are raised at the In Bond price, excluding any duty and VAT which will become payable at the prevailing rates on arrival of the wine if required duty paid.
Payment is required on sight of invoice, by cash, cheque, debit card or credit transfer. We reserve the right to charge 2% per month on invoices unpaid after 30 days.
Delivery
- Shipment to our bond (LCB Creek Road) and insurance are included in the in bond price.
- Delivery is free to Lea and Sandeman / Elephant storage accounts, both duty paid and in bond.
- Other deliveries (In Bond and Duty Paid) are also free subject to a minimum order from the offer of £1000, orders below this total will be charged £16.50+ VAT when the wine invoices are issued. We will group deliveries and this is a charge for your entire purchases, not a per-case charge.
- Delivery for 2016 Bordeaux primeurs will probably be completed by October 2019, but we make no guarantee as to specific delivery times, and some of the Sauternes may be later.
Practical notes - how it works
We start a sale in each customer's name and add all their primeur orders to one sale which is invoiced at the end of the campaign (or when the customer wishes) for immediate payment. We and our customers find that having a single invoice for the vintage is the simpler option, but do please note that confirmed orders are still binding as above even if the final invoice has not been issued.
When the wine is shipped, unless previously specified we will assume that delivery is to be to bonded storage with Elephant Storage, but in any case, we will contact you requesting any alternative instructions. If you have another bonded delivery address you would like the wine to go to, please tell us at the time of ordering. If the wines are required duty-paid we will issue invoices at the rates prevailing at the time for the excise duty (currently £25.98 per case) and the VAT (currently at 20%) on the total of the wine cost and the duty.
Half-bottles, Magnums and larger bottles.
One of the additional advantages of buying en primeur is being able to order the wine in the bottle size you want. Even if a wine is only listed in one size, you can order any bottle or case size you want if the property supplies it, but you must order the case/bottle size you require and check that the correct size has been invoiced.
Additional charges are as follows:-
- +£15 per case of 24 half-bottles
- +£15 per case of 6 Magnums (2 bottles equivalent, 1.5 litres each)
- +£35 per individually boxed Double Magnum (4 bottles equivalent, 3 litres)
- +£45 per individually boxed Imperial (8 bottles equivalent, 6 litres) for Salmanazars, Balthazars, Nebuchadnezzars and Melchiors please enquire for availability and price.