Château Canon-la-Gaffelière
Encyclopedia
Château Canon-la-Gaffelière is a Bordeaux wine
from the appellation
Saint-Émilion
, ranked Grand cru classé in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine
. The winery
is located in the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux wine region in the commune of Saint-Émilion, in the department Gironde
.
The estate also produces the second wine
Côte Mignon La Gaffelière, and is closely involved with the production of the "Vin de garage
" La Mondotte.
history dating back to the 17th century when the Comte de Malets-Roqueforts bought extensive real-estate, including the site of a leper colony
, and rented out large parts to share-croppers
. This vineyard came to prominence when Boitard de la Poterie family bought and cultivated what became known as Canon-Boitard, while the remaining land retained by the Malets-Roqueforts would become Château La Gaffelière
. Both the estates apply the word gaffet, which translates to leper
.
In 1971 the estate was bought by Joseph-Hubert, Graf von Neipperg, and in 1985 passed control to his son Comte Stephan von Neipperg, the current proprietor. Accredited with much of the success of the estate, his other properties include Clos de l'Oratoire
and the "super-cuvée" La Mondotte.
Having once been an exponent of modern techniques in winemaking, including microoxygenation
, von Neipperg has become critical of his own earlier vintages. Since the early 2000s he has reverted Canon-la-Gaffelière to a style of moderation aiming at a truer expression of wine, and is quoted saying "I don't make plum pudding".
The estate's consultant is the self-taught oenologist Stéphane Derenoncourt
.
, 40% Cabernet Franc
and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
.
Of the Grand vin, Château Canon-la-Gaffelière there is a total annual production of 7,500 cases, in addition to the production of the second wine, Côte Mignon La Gaffelière.
, originally purchased by Joseph-Hubert von Neipperg in 1971 when it was named Château La Mondotte, the terroir
initially produced crops that struggled to ripen and did not meet expectations. Using the most modern techniques, the word "château" was omitted to emphasise a new start, and that the little house on the property is hardly a château, La Mondotte was launched with the 1996 vintage. With its extreme characteristics, it is alternately referred to as a "super-cuvée" or a "garage wine", and has become one of the most expensive wines of Bordeaux.
From a vineyard area of 4.5 hectares composed of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the estate has an annual production of 650 to 1,000 cases a year.
Château Canon-la-Gaffelière is a Bordeaux wine
from the appellation
Saint-Émilion
, ranked Grand cru classé in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine
. The winery
is located in the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux wine region in the commune of Saint-Émilion, in the department Gironde
.
The estate also produces the second wine
Côte Mignon La Gaffelière, and is closely involved with the production of the "Vin de garage
" La Mondotte.
history dating back to the 17th century when the Comte de Malets-Roqueforts bought extensive real-estate, including the site of a leper colony
, and rented out large parts to share-croppers
. This vineyard came to prominence when Boitard de la Poterie family bought and cultivated what became known as Canon-Boitard, while the remaining land retained by the Malets-Roqueforts would become Château La Gaffelière
. Both the estates apply the word gaffet, which translates to leper
.
In 1971 the estate was bought by Joseph-Hubert, Graf von Neipperg, and in 1985 passed control to his son Comte Stephan von Neipperg, the current proprietor. Accredited with much of the success of the estate, his other properties include Clos de l'Oratoire
and the "super-cuvée" La Mondotte.
Having once been an exponent of modern techniques in winemaking, including microoxygenation
, von Neipperg has become critical of his own earlier vintages. Since the early 2000s he has reverted Canon-la-Gaffelière to a style of moderation aiming at a truer expression of wine, and is quoted saying "I don't make plum pudding".
The estate's consultant is the self-taught oenologist Stéphane Derenoncourt
.
, 40% Cabernet Franc
and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
.
Of the Grand vin, Château Canon-la-Gaffelière there is a total annual production of 7,500 cases, in addition to the production of the second wine, Côte Mignon La Gaffelière.
, originally purchased by Joseph-Hubert von Neipperg in 1971 when it was named Château La Mondotte, the terroir
initially produced crops that struggled to ripen and did not meet expectations. Using the most modern techniques, the word "château" was omitted to emphasise a new start, and that the little house on the property is hardly a château, La Mondotte was launched with the 1996 vintage. With its extreme characteristics, it is alternately referred to as a "super-cuvée" or a "garage wine", and has become one of the most expensive wines of Bordeaux.
From a vineyard area of 4.5 hectares composed of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the estate has an annual production of 650 to 1,000 cases a year.
Château Canon-la-Gaffelière is a Bordeaux wine
from the appellation
Saint-Émilion
, ranked Grand cru classé in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine
. The winery
is located in the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux wine region in the commune of Saint-Émilion, in the department Gironde
.
The estate also produces the second wine
Côte Mignon La Gaffelière, and is closely involved with the production of the "Vin de garage
" La Mondotte.
history dating back to the 17th century when the Comte de Malets-Roqueforts bought extensive real-estate, including the site of a leper colony
, and rented out large parts to share-croppers
. This vineyard came to prominence when Boitard de la Poterie family bought and cultivated what became known as Canon-Boitard, while the remaining land retained by the Malets-Roqueforts would become Château La Gaffelière
. Both the estates apply the word gaffet, which translates to leper
.
In 1971 the estate was bought by Joseph-Hubert, Graf von Neipperg, and in 1985 passed control to his son Comte Stephan von Neipperg, the current proprietor. Accredited with much of the success of the estate, his other properties include Clos de l'Oratoire
and the "super-cuvée" La Mondotte.
Having once been an exponent of modern techniques in winemaking, including microoxygenation
, von Neipperg has become critical of his own earlier vintages. Since the early 2000s he has reverted Canon-la-Gaffelière to a style of moderation aiming at a truer expression of wine, and is quoted saying "I don't make plum pudding".
The estate's consultant is the self-taught oenologist Stéphane Derenoncourt
.
, 40% Cabernet Franc
and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
.
Of the Grand vin, Château Canon-la-Gaffelière there is a total annual production of 7,500 cases, in addition to the production of the second wine, Côte Mignon La Gaffelière.
, originally purchased by Joseph-Hubert von Neipperg in 1971 when it was named Château La Mondotte, the terroir
initially produced crops that struggled to ripen and did not meet expectations. Using the most modern techniques, the word "château" was omitted to emphasise a new start, and that the little house on the property is hardly a château, La Mondotte was launched with the 1996 vintage. With its extreme characteristics, it is alternately referred to as a "super-cuvée" or a "garage wine", and has become one of the most expensive wines of Bordeaux.
From a vineyard area of 4.5 hectares composed of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the estate has an annual production of 650 to 1,000 cases a year.
Bordeaux wine
A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Average vintages produce over 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine, ranging from large quantities of everyday table wine, to some of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world...
from the appellation
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...
Saint-Émilion
Saint-Émilion AOC
Saint-Émilion is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée for wine in the Bordeaux wine region of France, where it is situated in the Libourne subregion on the right bank of the Dordogne...
, ranked Grand cru classé in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine
Classification of Saint-Émilion wine
In 1955 the wines of Saint-Émilion in the wine-growing region of Bordeaux were classified. Unlike the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 covering wines from the Medoc and Graves regions, the Saint-Émilion list is updated every 10 years or so. Following the initial classification, the...
. The winery
Winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
is located in the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux wine region in the commune of Saint-Émilion, in the department Gironde
Gironde
For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...
.
The estate also produces the second wine
Second wine
Second wine is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from cuvee not selected for use in the Grand vin or first label...
Côte Mignon La Gaffelière, and is closely involved with the production of the "Vin de garage
Garagistes
The garagistes refers to a group of innovative winemakers in the Bordeaux region, producing "Vins de garage", "Garage wine". A group emerged in the mid 1990s in reaction to the traditional style of red Bordeaux wine, which is highly tannic and requires long ageing in the bottle to become drinkable...
" La Mondotte.
History
Although an old property with viticulturalViticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
history dating back to the 17th century when the Comte de Malets-Roqueforts bought extensive real-estate, including the site of a leper colony
Leper colony
A leper colony, leprosarium, or lazar house is a place to quarantine leprous people.-History:Leper colonies or houses became widespread in the Middle Ages, particularly in Europe and India, and often run by monastic orders...
, and rented out large parts to share-croppers
Sharecropping
Sharecropping is a system of agriculture in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crop produced on the land . This should not be confused with a crop fixed rent contract, in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a fixed amount of...
. This vineyard came to prominence when Boitard de la Poterie family bought and cultivated what became known as Canon-Boitard, while the remaining land retained by the Malets-Roqueforts would become Château La Gaffelière
Château La Gaffelière
Château La Gaffelière, previously Château Gaffelière-Naudes, is a Bordeaux wine from the Saint-Émilion appellation, ranked among the Premiers grands crus classés B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine...
. Both the estates apply the word gaffet, which translates to leper
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
.
In 1971 the estate was bought by Joseph-Hubert, Graf von Neipperg, and in 1985 passed control to his son Comte Stephan von Neipperg, the current proprietor. Accredited with much of the success of the estate, his other properties include Clos de l'Oratoire
Clos de l'Oratoire
Clos de l'Oratoire is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Grand cru classé in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine...
and the "super-cuvée" La Mondotte.
Having once been an exponent of modern techniques in winemaking, including microoxygenation
Microoxygenation
Micro-oxygenation is a process used in winemaking to introduce oxygen into wine in a controlled manner. Developed in 1991 by Patrick DuCournau, working with the exceptionally tannic grape Tannat in Madiran, the process gained usage in modern winemaking following the 1996 authorization by the...
, von Neipperg has become critical of his own earlier vintages. Since the early 2000s he has reverted Canon-la-Gaffelière to a style of moderation aiming at a truer expression of wine, and is quoted saying "I don't make plum pudding".
The estate's consultant is the self-taught oenologist Stéphane Derenoncourt
Stéphane Derenoncourt
Stéphane Derenoncourt is a French vigneron working as a consultant for numerous estates in Bordeaux and other wine producers world wide, with his wife Christine Derenoncourt runs Vignerons Consultants and owns Domaine de l'A in the Côtes de Castillon and Derenoncourt California in Napa Valley...
.
Production
The vineyard area extends 19.5 hectares with the grape varieties of 55% MerlotMerlot
Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
, 40% Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone - as in the Loire's Chinon...
and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
.
Of the Grand vin, Château Canon-la-Gaffelière there is a total annual production of 7,500 cases, in addition to the production of the second wine, Côte Mignon La Gaffelière.
La Mondotte
From a small plot of limestone near Château Pavie-MacquinChâteau Pavie-Macquin
Château Pavie-Macquin is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Premier grand cru classé B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. The winery is one of three Pavie estates, along with Château Pavie and Château Pavie-Decesse, located in the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux...
, originally purchased by Joseph-Hubert von Neipperg in 1971 when it was named Château La Mondotte, the terroir
Terroir
Terroir comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties...
initially produced crops that struggled to ripen and did not meet expectations. Using the most modern techniques, the word "château" was omitted to emphasise a new start, and that the little house on the property is hardly a château, La Mondotte was launched with the 1996 vintage. With its extreme characteristics, it is alternately referred to as a "super-cuvée" or a "garage wine", and has become one of the most expensive wines of Bordeaux.
From a vineyard area of 4.5 hectares composed of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the estate has an annual production of 650 to 1,000 cases a year.
External links
Château Canon-la-Gaffelière is a Bordeaux wine
Bordeaux wine
A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Average vintages produce over 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine, ranging from large quantities of everyday table wine, to some of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world...
from the appellation
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...
Saint-Émilion
Saint-Émilion AOC
Saint-Émilion is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée for wine in the Bordeaux wine region of France, where it is situated in the Libourne subregion on the right bank of the Dordogne...
, ranked Grand cru classé in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine
Classification of Saint-Émilion wine
In 1955 the wines of Saint-Émilion in the wine-growing region of Bordeaux were classified. Unlike the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 covering wines from the Medoc and Graves regions, the Saint-Émilion list is updated every 10 years or so. Following the initial classification, the...
. The winery
Winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
is located in the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux wine region in the commune of Saint-Émilion, in the department Gironde
Gironde
For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...
.
The estate also produces the second wine
Second wine
Second wine is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from cuvee not selected for use in the Grand vin or first label...
Côte Mignon La Gaffelière, and is closely involved with the production of the "Vin de garage
Garagistes
The garagistes refers to a group of innovative winemakers in the Bordeaux region, producing "Vins de garage", "Garage wine". A group emerged in the mid 1990s in reaction to the traditional style of red Bordeaux wine, which is highly tannic and requires long ageing in the bottle to become drinkable...
" La Mondotte.
History
Although an old property with viticulturalViticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
history dating back to the 17th century when the Comte de Malets-Roqueforts bought extensive real-estate, including the site of a leper colony
Leper colony
A leper colony, leprosarium, or lazar house is a place to quarantine leprous people.-History:Leper colonies or houses became widespread in the Middle Ages, particularly in Europe and India, and often run by monastic orders...
, and rented out large parts to share-croppers
Sharecropping
Sharecropping is a system of agriculture in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crop produced on the land . This should not be confused with a crop fixed rent contract, in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a fixed amount of...
. This vineyard came to prominence when Boitard de la Poterie family bought and cultivated what became known as Canon-Boitard, while the remaining land retained by the Malets-Roqueforts would become Château La Gaffelière
Château La Gaffelière
Château La Gaffelière, previously Château Gaffelière-Naudes, is a Bordeaux wine from the Saint-Émilion appellation, ranked among the Premiers grands crus classés B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine...
. Both the estates apply the word gaffet, which translates to leper
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
.
In 1971 the estate was bought by Joseph-Hubert, Graf von Neipperg, and in 1985 passed control to his son Comte Stephan von Neipperg, the current proprietor. Accredited with much of the success of the estate, his other properties include Clos de l'Oratoire
Clos de l'Oratoire
Clos de l'Oratoire is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Grand cru classé in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine...
and the "super-cuvée" La Mondotte.
Having once been an exponent of modern techniques in winemaking, including microoxygenation
Microoxygenation
Micro-oxygenation is a process used in winemaking to introduce oxygen into wine in a controlled manner. Developed in 1991 by Patrick DuCournau, working with the exceptionally tannic grape Tannat in Madiran, the process gained usage in modern winemaking following the 1996 authorization by the...
, von Neipperg has become critical of his own earlier vintages. Since the early 2000s he has reverted Canon-la-Gaffelière to a style of moderation aiming at a truer expression of wine, and is quoted saying "I don't make plum pudding".
The estate's consultant is the self-taught oenologist Stéphane Derenoncourt
Stéphane Derenoncourt
Stéphane Derenoncourt is a French vigneron working as a consultant for numerous estates in Bordeaux and other wine producers world wide, with his wife Christine Derenoncourt runs Vignerons Consultants and owns Domaine de l'A in the Côtes de Castillon and Derenoncourt California in Napa Valley...
.
Production
The vineyard area extends 19.5 hectares with the grape varieties of 55% MerlotMerlot
Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
, 40% Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone - as in the Loire's Chinon...
and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
.
Of the Grand vin, Château Canon-la-Gaffelière there is a total annual production of 7,500 cases, in addition to the production of the second wine, Côte Mignon La Gaffelière.
La Mondotte
From a small plot of limestone near Château Pavie-MacquinChâteau Pavie-Macquin
Château Pavie-Macquin is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Premier grand cru classé B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. The winery is one of three Pavie estates, along with Château Pavie and Château Pavie-Decesse, located in the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux...
, originally purchased by Joseph-Hubert von Neipperg in 1971 when it was named Château La Mondotte, the terroir
Terroir
Terroir comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties...
initially produced crops that struggled to ripen and did not meet expectations. Using the most modern techniques, the word "château" was omitted to emphasise a new start, and that the little house on the property is hardly a château, La Mondotte was launched with the 1996 vintage. With its extreme characteristics, it is alternately referred to as a "super-cuvée" or a "garage wine", and has become one of the most expensive wines of Bordeaux.
From a vineyard area of 4.5 hectares composed of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the estate has an annual production of 650 to 1,000 cases a year.
External links
Château Canon-la-Gaffelière is a Bordeaux wine
Bordeaux wine
A Bordeaux wine is any wine produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Average vintages produce over 700 million bottles of Bordeaux wine, ranging from large quantities of everyday table wine, to some of the most expensive and prestigious wines in the world...
from the appellation
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...
Saint-Émilion
Saint-Émilion AOC
Saint-Émilion is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée for wine in the Bordeaux wine region of France, where it is situated in the Libourne subregion on the right bank of the Dordogne...
, ranked Grand cru classé in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine
Classification of Saint-Émilion wine
In 1955 the wines of Saint-Émilion in the wine-growing region of Bordeaux were classified. Unlike the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 covering wines from the Medoc and Graves regions, the Saint-Émilion list is updated every 10 years or so. Following the initial classification, the...
. The winery
Winery
A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, bottling lines, laboratories, and large expanses of...
is located in the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux wine region in the commune of Saint-Émilion, in the department Gironde
Gironde
For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...
.
The estate also produces the second wine
Second wine
Second wine is a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to refer to a second label wine made from cuvee not selected for use in the Grand vin or first label...
Côte Mignon La Gaffelière, and is closely involved with the production of the "Vin de garage
Garagistes
The garagistes refers to a group of innovative winemakers in the Bordeaux region, producing "Vins de garage", "Garage wine". A group emerged in the mid 1990s in reaction to the traditional style of red Bordeaux wine, which is highly tannic and requires long ageing in the bottle to become drinkable...
" La Mondotte.
History
Although an old property with viticulturalViticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
history dating back to the 17th century when the Comte de Malets-Roqueforts bought extensive real-estate, including the site of a leper colony
Leper colony
A leper colony, leprosarium, or lazar house is a place to quarantine leprous people.-History:Leper colonies or houses became widespread in the Middle Ages, particularly in Europe and India, and often run by monastic orders...
, and rented out large parts to share-croppers
Sharecropping
Sharecropping is a system of agriculture in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crop produced on the land . This should not be confused with a crop fixed rent contract, in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a fixed amount of...
. This vineyard came to prominence when Boitard de la Poterie family bought and cultivated what became known as Canon-Boitard, while the remaining land retained by the Malets-Roqueforts would become Château La Gaffelière
Château La Gaffelière
Château La Gaffelière, previously Château Gaffelière-Naudes, is a Bordeaux wine from the Saint-Émilion appellation, ranked among the Premiers grands crus classés B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine...
. Both the estates apply the word gaffet, which translates to leper
Leprosy
Leprosy or Hansen's disease is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. Named after physician Gerhard Armauer Hansen, leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions...
.
In 1971 the estate was bought by Joseph-Hubert, Graf von Neipperg, and in 1985 passed control to his son Comte Stephan von Neipperg, the current proprietor. Accredited with much of the success of the estate, his other properties include Clos de l'Oratoire
Clos de l'Oratoire
Clos de l'Oratoire is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Grand cru classé in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine...
and the "super-cuvée" La Mondotte.
Having once been an exponent of modern techniques in winemaking, including microoxygenation
Microoxygenation
Micro-oxygenation is a process used in winemaking to introduce oxygen into wine in a controlled manner. Developed in 1991 by Patrick DuCournau, working with the exceptionally tannic grape Tannat in Madiran, the process gained usage in modern winemaking following the 1996 authorization by the...
, von Neipperg has become critical of his own earlier vintages. Since the early 2000s he has reverted Canon-la-Gaffelière to a style of moderation aiming at a truer expression of wine, and is quoted saying "I don't make plum pudding".
The estate's consultant is the self-taught oenologist Stéphane Derenoncourt
Stéphane Derenoncourt
Stéphane Derenoncourt is a French vigneron working as a consultant for numerous estates in Bordeaux and other wine producers world wide, with his wife Christine Derenoncourt runs Vignerons Consultants and owns Domaine de l'A in the Côtes de Castillon and Derenoncourt California in Napa Valley...
.
Production
The vineyard area extends 19.5 hectares with the grape varieties of 55% MerlotMerlot
Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
, 40% Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone - as in the Loire's Chinon...
and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
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Of the Grand vin, Château Canon-la-Gaffelière there is a total annual production of 7,500 cases, in addition to the production of the second wine, Côte Mignon La Gaffelière.
La Mondotte
From a small plot of limestone near Château Pavie-MacquinChâteau Pavie-Macquin
Château Pavie-Macquin is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Saint-Émilion, ranked Premier grand cru classé B in the Classification of Saint-Émilion wine. The winery is one of three Pavie estates, along with Château Pavie and Château Pavie-Decesse, located in the Right Bank of France’s Bordeaux...
, originally purchased by Joseph-Hubert von Neipperg in 1971 when it was named Château La Mondotte, the terroir
Terroir
Terroir comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties...
initially produced crops that struggled to ripen and did not meet expectations. Using the most modern techniques, the word "château" was omitted to emphasise a new start, and that the little house on the property is hardly a château, La Mondotte was launched with the 1996 vintage. With its extreme characteristics, it is alternately referred to as a "super-cuvée" or a "garage wine", and has become one of the most expensive wines of Bordeaux.
From a vineyard area of 4.5 hectares composed of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc, the estate has an annual production of 650 to 1,000 cases a year.
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