Château Canon La Gaffelière 2021 Saint-Émilion (75cl, 13.5%)

A Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé from Vignobles Comtes von Neipperg, from the 2021 vintage. The blend is 35% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Franc and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. The 19.5 ha vineyard sits on clay-limestone and clay-sand at the foot of the Saint-Émilion slope. Harvest ran from 28 September to 14 October 2021 at 30 hl/ha, with 29 days' fermentation in wooden vats with pneumatic pigeage, then 15 months' ageing in oak barrels (40% new) on the lees with no fining; château-bottled 31 May to 1 June 2023. Organic-certified (FR-BIO-10). The estate presents it as classy, well-structured, complex and elegant, with Cabernet ripeness on warm soils adding power and aromatic complexity to Merlot's opulence.