1995 Canon-la-Gaffelière

"If you work the same way every year, then 1996 is a better vintage than 1997 in St. Emilion," says proprietor Stephan von Neipperg. But von Neipperg picked extremely late in '97, and the freakishly long hang time (as long as 140 days!) resulted in a concentration of sugars and acids. "Too many people here think like enologists," noted von Neipperg. "But the enologists don't go out into the vineyards. All the good St. Emilions in '97 were picked very late; even on September 15 the skins were not ripe." Yields were down 40% from '96 levels for Canon la Gaffeliere, a bit less for his other two wines, Clos de l'Oratoire and La Mondotte. The pHs were higher, but so were polyphenol levels. Beginning with this vintage, the wines here are fermented in wood vats. Von Neipperg, who leaves his wines on their lees, unracked, for more than a year, believes that the '97 vintage will need less oxygenation than normal during elevage, and that excessive racking elsewhere will be a mistake. Von Neipperg maintains that the first "interesting" year here was 1988; I believe that the gentler extraction practiced in '96 and '97 have brought these wines to another level.

Stephan von Neipperg did a 20% saignée in '95 because of rain dilution on his flatter sandy soils. The cuvaison lasted a full month, compared to 25 days in '94. Very reductive winemaking is the rule here. The malolactic fermentation takes place in barriques, and the lees are regularly stirred until the wine is assembled in January. Because the lees consume oxygen, it is possible to use very low doses of sulfur. After the wine is assembled, it is not racked again for a year; instead, von Neipperg pumps oxygen into the barrels when the wine needs aeration. Bottling takes place without fining or filtration. The Clos de l'Oratoire, from a vineyard on the north side of St Emilion, is 90% merlot, while the Canon La Gaffelière is generally a 50/50 blend of merlot and cabernet franc. About 55% new oak is used for both wines. Although recent vintages have not featured the high grape sugars of 1990 (14.3% potential alcohol!), von Neipperg considers '94 and '95 to be two superb years—the '94 with more finesse than the '90, and the '95 better still.