Château Canon-La Gaffelière St.-Emilion 2010

Since he took charge at Canon-La Gaffelière in 1985, Stephan von Neipperg, of German nobility yet a rebel in Bordeaux, has elevated quality by focusing on terroir and thinking outside the box. He was one of the first to hire consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt. Grapes for this wine, a blend of 55 percent Merlot, 35 percent Cabernet Franc and 10 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, are destemmed and go mostly uncrushed into oak vats, triggering a slow initial fermentation. The wine aged in barrel for 17 months.

Tasting Note

This takes the power of the vintage and puts it in its pocket for later, preferring instead to let mouthwatering briar, loganberry, mulberry and blackberry fruit strut its way forward, enlivened with roasted wood spice and supported by suavely but thoroughly embedded iron-tinged structure. Should cruise for two decades. Best from 2016 through 2035. –James Molesworth