94-96
Galloni: "The 2021 Canon La Gaffelière is striking. Aromatic and expressive, with no hard edges, the 2021 impresses with its balance and overall harmony. All the lements are so nicely integrated. Crushed red berry fruit, white flowers, mint, rose petal and orange zest all race through this super-appealing, mid-weight Saint-Émilion. The 2021 is so well put together. It's is such a sensual wine."
95
Decanter: "This has a gorgeous herbal-fruity nose, scented, fresh and lively with raspberry leaf. Impactful on the palate straight away - the fine-grained tannins hit the mouth and expand slowly alongside the liquorice spice and dark berry fruit with violet aromas. It's direct and linear at the moment, taut, and driven in one line. You feel it's coiled up ready to spring with strawberry fruit and the Cabernet aspects coming through. It's delicately textured, the mouthfeel is light and bouncy while the flavours slowly expand vertically. Touches of sweetness, bitterness and minerality appear adding interest from start to finish. I love the clarity you get. Impactful and full of complexity. Will be lovely to taste this in bottle. 5% more Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon than usual as some Merlot was lost to frost and mildew. A production of 98% grand vin."
94-95
Suckling: "Lovely, perfumed character with cherries, spices and flowers. Medium-bodied, firm and polished with solid tannins and a fresh finish. Pure. Light coffee and walnut. Well crafted."
93-95
Wine Advocate: "The 2021 Canon la Gaffelière is beautiful, bursting from the glass with aromas of rose petals, lilac, sweet berry fruit, burning embers and warm spices. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and elegant, with a fleshy core of fruit, lively acids and beautifully refined tannins, it's the highlight of the von Neipperg portfolio this year. Cabernet Franc, as usual, takes the lead."
18
Weinwisser: "45 % Cabernet Franc, 35 % Merlot, 20 % CS, 40 % neue Barriques, 13 Vol.-%, 30 hl/ha. Verspieltes blumiges Bouquet, betörender Veilchen- und Iris-Duft, Walderdbeere und Preiselbeere. Am eleganten Gaumen seidige Textur, reifes Extrakt, fein stoffig, stützendes Tanningerüst und mittlerer Körper. Im gebündelten Finale edle Cassiswürze, Estragon und edle Salznote."
93-95
Dunnuck: "One of the gems out there, the 2021 Château Canon-La-Gaffelière is well worth seeking out. Giving up ample blue fruits, medium to full-bodied richness, ripe tannins, and complex, pure aromatics of violets, iron, and tobacco, it shines for its balance and elegance while bring terrific depth of fruit. Count me impressed."
93-95
Wine Cellar Insider: "On the nose you find cigar wrapper, spearmint, flowers, leafy herbs, red fruits and spices. Fresh, crisp, elegant, bright, chewy and chalky on the palate, this is what modern classic Bordeaux is all about. The wine finishes with sweet, red fruits before moving to the intense minerality and spicy notes in the backend. Blending 45% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% ABV. The blend represents the highest portion of Cabernet in the blend. Yields were only 30 hectoliters per hectare due to frost and mildew. The harvest took place, September 28 - October 14. Drink from 2025-2048. 93-95"
93
Falstaff: "Dunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, breitere Randaufhellung. Feine Kräuterwürze, schwarze Kirschen, zart tabakig, Nuancen von Brombeeren. Mittlere Komplexität, rote Kirschen, schlank und lebendig, salzige Mineralik, zitroniger Touch im Abgang, rotbeeriger Nachhall, ein animierender Speisenbegleiter."
91-93
Neal Martin: "The 2021 Canon La Gaffelière was picked September 28 to October 14 at 30hL/ha and contains a little more Cabernet Franc this year (45%). It has an elegant, pure bouquet, unfurling to offer dark cherries, incense and violet aromas; the new oak (40%) is well integrated. The refined, understated palate is quite mineral-driven, featuring black truffle and ground black pepper and turning spicy toward the finish. Displaying fine complexity, this Canon-laGaffelière should give 15–20 years of drinking pleasure."
91-93
Perroti-Brown: "The 2021 Canon la Gaffeliere is a blend of 45% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, aging in 40% new oak. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, it sashays out of the glass with a lovely perfume of violets, Sichuan pepper and dried herbs, leading to a core of redcurrant jelly, cassis, and stewed red plums. The light to medium-bodied palate is delicately played, with a light chew of tannins and soft-spoken fruit, finishing savory."