| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
This is a great property that made fabulous wines in the past, but dipped in form during the 1990s until the Fournier family sold it in 1996. Huge improvements and investments were then made - in vineyard and chai - by former manager John Kolasa and new owners Chanel. The château itself has recently enjoyed a substantial make-over. It is now right back up there as one of the very best of all the Saint Emilion châteaux. New director Nicolas Audebert came in from Krug via South America and had an amazing start to his career at Canon. His triumphant 100 point 2015 has been followed by a string of great vintages, yet release prices remain sensible. The vineyard is planted 75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc. There is also a very good second label called Croix Canon.
The 2023 is 71% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Franc from a healthy yield of 45 hl/ha. Elevage is in 50% new oak, 50% second fill from 5 coopers (Sylvain, Taransaud, Quintesance, Demptos and St Martin) and also in 3 large foudres. This is regarded by the team here as a more approchable vertion of the excellent 2016 produced here.
Wafting from the glass with aromas of mulberries and raspberries mingled with spices, rose petals, licorice and violets, the 2023 Canon is another brilliant wine from a property whose excellence can almost be taken for granted. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's seamless and concentrated, its vibrant core of fruit framed by sweet, powdery tannins and girdled by lively acids, concluding with a long, mineral finish.
The 2023 Canon was picked from around 6 September to 6 October at 45hL/ha and matured in 50% new oak. It has a perfumed bouquet with pure black cherries and touches of cassis and violet. The oak is beautifully integrated. Perhaps if I have to quibble, it is not quite as complex as the very best recent vintages, but that's a high bar nowadays. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black cherry fruit laced with iodine, and veins of blue fruit. There is a sorbet-like freshness embroidered throughout this Canon, and it delivers a lovely cracked black pepper note on the finish. Excellent. Again.
Shiny ruby colour in the glass. The nose is redolent with cherry blossom, offering notes of summer pudding, baked vanilla and wild strawberries. The palate is tighter, with coiled, layered hedgerow fruits framed by ripe, chalky and ultra-refined tannins. There is a stony, flinty undertone that adds gravitas but the fruit is creamy and ripe for the vintage. This interplay makes the wine both seductive and serious, combining the very best elements that right bank wines have to offer this year. Superb.
This is so elegant and sophisticated already, with a really electric presence and length that goes on and on. It's medium- to full-bodied with an intensity of tannins. It remains weightless and energetic. The pH is 3.41, making this a vivid and lively wine. Currant, orange and stone. Sea salt, too. The limestone soils created a unique wine here in 2023. A blend of 71% merlot and 29% cabernet franc.
A blend of 71% Merlot and 29% Cabernet Franc, the 2023 Canon has a pH of 3.42 and it will age in barriques for 16-18 months, of which 50% are new. It is deep garnet-purple in color and sails out of the glass with bold notions of juicy blueberries, fresh plums, and Bing cherries, giving way to hints of black pepper, fragrant soil, and violets. The medium to full-bodied palate shimmers with energetic black and blue fruits, framed by super-satiny tannins and compelling tension, finishing long and fragrant. Absolutely ethereal!
Finesse and saline limestone character on full display, spiced plum, textural as ever, with finely boned architecture, in the line of great Canon vintages, with density to the black fruits and the mouthwateringly precise tannic grip and oyster shell salinity. 50% new oak for ageing, harvest September 6 through to October 4 (with Merlot going right through until the end, unlike many places, here they really waited). 45hl/ha yield, in organic conversion. Tasted twice.
A wine of classicism and reserve, the 2023 Canon is less overtly expressive than most recent vintages, keeping much of its personality in reserve. Nevertheless, I watched it grow considerably over the two weeks I spent in Bordeaux. Bright red-toned fruit, blood orange, mint and spice are some of the many notes that open in the glass. It is a wine that marries generous fruit with classical rigor. I won't be surprised if it shows even better with time. Tasted four times. 2033-2063
71% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample.
Crimson hue. Energy and complexity on the nose. Supple, layered fruit on the palate. Fine tannins with some persistence. Elegant and true to its limestone-plateau origin. (JL) 14%
Drink 2030 – 2045
