Château Canon La Gaffelière

The estate

Before it was Canon La Gaffelière it was Canon-Boisard. Édouard Féret, coauthor of Bordeaux et ses vins, the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, printed it in his survey of the Libourne district of 1897 as Château-Canon-La-Gaffelière, under Dr Peyraud, at 40 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels) that year and 50 in an average one, and set it at the head of the growths he ranked between the first and second growths of Saint-Émilion, on the strength of the part of the vineyard that lay on the slope. Travelers, he wrote, noticed the vineyard the moment they reached the Saint-Émilion station, for the perfection of its cultivation. By 1922 it stood among the first growths outright, at 45 tonneaux under Mme Peyraud, planted with the finest varieties, most of them very old.

The counts von Neipperg bought the estate in 1971, and Stephan von Neipperg runs it, together with the family’s other properties: La Mondotte, Clos de l’Oratoire and Château Peyreau in Saint-Émilion, Château d’Aiguilhe in the Côtes de Castillon and Clos Marsalette in Pessac-Léognan. The list approved in September 2022 names 14 Premiers Grands Crus Classés, and Canon La Gaffelière is 1 of them, in the B rank.

The 19.5 hectares lie at the pied de côte, the foot of the slope south of the town, on clay and limestone and on clay and sand that drain freely and hold the heat of the day. The vines average 50 years and are planted 50% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the estate has been certified organic since the 2014 vintage. The fruit is picked by hand into small crates and fermented in temperature controlled wooden vats for 28 to 35 days, the cap pushed down by pneumatic ram; the wine then spends 15 to 18 months on its fine lees in oak, up to 80% of it new. Les Hauts de Canon La Gaffelière is the second wine.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

Commune

Saint-Émilion, at the foot of the southern slope

Classification

Premier Grand Cru Classé B, 2022; MICHELIN Guide, 1 grape (2026)

Owners

The counts von Neipperg, since 1971

Direction

Stephan von Neipperg

Vineyard

19.5 hectares at the foot of the slope; vines 50 years old on average

Ground

Clay and limestone, clay and sand; free draining and warm

Grapes

Merlot 50%, Cabernet Franc 40%, Cabernet Sauvignon 10%

Farming

Certified organic, FR-BIO-10, since the 2014 vintage

Cellar

Picked by hand; wooden vats, 28 to 35 days; 15 to 18 months on fine lees in oak, up to 80% new

Wines

Château Canon La Gaffelière; Les Hauts de Canon La Gaffelière

In history

At the head of the growths between the first and second growths in 1897, at 40 tonneaux; a first growth by 1922

Sources: Vignobles Comtes von Neipperg, Château Canon La Gaffelière · Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, Château Canon La Gaffelière · INAO, Saint-Émilion grand cru: the classification for the next decade