The freshness on the nose is striking and you could easily mistake this for a 4-5 year old wine. Ripe elderberry and wild blackberry notes are married to elegant tannins and a lively acidity, making this leap and bound across the palate. Long mineral finish. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019) - Stuart Pigott, jamessuckling.com, March 2019

An intriguing blend of nearly 50% Merlot, a whopping 35% Cabernet Franc and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon (a somewhat unusual combination for this region), the 2009 reminds me of the 1990. A big, inky/purple-tinged wine with just over 14% natural alcohol, it exhibits exotic, flamboyant aromas of espresso roast, incense, sweet black cherries, black currants, licorice, asphalt, barbecue smoke, Christmas fruitcake and herbs. Full-bodied with silky tannins, luscious fruit, a hedonistic yet complex personality, low acidity, noticeable tannin and enviable purity, this head-turning beauty can be enjoyed over the next 15-20 years.

Robert Parker (Wine Advocate #199, Feb 2012)

94 - Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2009 Canon la Gaffeliere leaps from the glass with bold baked blackberries, plum preserves and blueberry compote notes with nuances of licorice, sweaty leather, tapenade and garrigue. It is quite mature and open in the medium-bodied mouth, with a firm, chewy frame and lively backbone, finishing with loads of savory/meaty layers.Lisa Perrotti-Brown, March 2019

Medium to deep garnet colored, the 2009 Canon la Gaffeliere leaps from the glass with bold baked blackberries, plum preserves and blueberry compote notes with nuances of licorice, sweaty leather, tapenade and garrigue. It is quite mature and open in the medium-bodied mouth, with a firm, chewy frame and lively backbone, finishing with loads of savory/meaty layers.

The 2009 Canon-la-Gaffelière has a very attractive bouquet with truffle and smoke infused black fruit, hints of roasted chestnut, secondary aromas beginning to come through nicely. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, very well balanced with hints of black toast and white pepper filtering through. This is well defined and more persistent than some of its peers, likewise it has become more classic in style in recent years. Superb. Tasted at BI Wines & Spirits' annual Ten Year On tasting. - vinous.com, March 2019

Bright ruby-red. Jammy, exotic aromas of black raspberry and smoke; wild and slightly high-toned in a syrah way. Dense, sweet and layered, with lovely saline complexity to the ripe black raspberry flavor. Finishes sweet, plush and very long, with smooth tannins and plenty of early sex appeal.

(a blend of 55% merlot, 35% cabernet franc and 10% cabernet sauvignon; 34 hectoliters per hectare; 90% new oak; 14% alcohol) Ruby-purple. Perfumed nose offers pure dark berries, herbs and licorice lifted by a peppery nuance. Then sweet and spicy in the mouth, with very good intensity of black fruit flavor and a coffee-and-chocolate impression of ripeness. Perhaps deceptively easygoing today, finishing with good fruity persistence, a touch of warmth and hints of tar and licorice.

[55M/35CF/10CS] The immediate fresh, spicy, individual raspberry scent of Cabernet Franc - alongside the 'dry' new oak presence; concentrated, fairly full bodied wine, well balanced in its clear (but not excessive) new wave, tannin dry style; dense and structured, with an abundance of sweet, fleshy fruit, long, gently complex, aromatic and racy, with an intensely sweet length. Faint, but not distracting, alcoholic warmth. Classy, if rather like a huge liquid bonbon. Large scale Canon La Gaffelière which will need a decade at least to relax and mellow. 2020-35+