Château Canon 2025

An outstanding Canon. Cherry, cola, liquorice, slate, blackcurrant with a milk chocolate dusting. Smooth and impactful from the start – chewy but juicy, round, alive and filling – mature but there’s no overt sun in the glass. You can feel the Cabernet Franc and the coolness all round. Good structure, maybe more serious than some Canons in the past, but there’s such purity and focus with excellent tannins as well as plenty of blackcurrants, red cherries and hints of raspberry too Complexity and nuance in abundance. A fabulous wine in the making. Authentic.

The bouquet of red, white, and purple flowers is what initially grabs your attention. From there, it is the wealth of fruit, with its intensity, and the oceanic influences that keep you focused. The palate balances lift, energy, concentration, and juiciness perfectly. The finish delivers sweet, ripe black and red fruits, which linger and expand, leaving you with layers of salt-tinged, sweet, ripe fruits and a touch of herbs and mint in the endnotes. Key points of the vintage came not only from the ripeness of the fruit, but, interestingly, from their normal yields, which aided in lowering ABV levels and giving better balance. The wine blends 76% Merlot, and 24% Cabernet Franc. 14% ABV. 3.5% pH. The harvest took place from August 28 - September 18. Yields were 40 hectoliters per hectare. Drink from 2030-2060. 97-99 Pts

An impressive Canon, seductive limestone character that showcases what was possible in the vintage. Slate, chalk and pumice stone, all wrapped up in bright and vivid iris flowers, push and pull momentum through the palate where things stop, take a breath, then kick off again with a new layer of nuanced understated toasted spice and cool blue fruits. Deft, skilful, rooted in place. 40hl/h yield. Tasted twice. Nicolas Audebert director. Thomas Duclos consultant. 3.5ph.

Some wines speak loudly, command attention, and flaunt their strengths. Then there are more cerebral wines that recount the course of the season, revealing their particularities sparingly, so as to highlight their complexity. And then there is Canon. Its nonchalance, elegance, and serenity are deeply reassuring. It is obviously not easy to handle, but clearly all you need to do is follow it where it wants to go, and accompany it where it knows who it wants to be. The nuances combining freshness and terroir create, on their own, a remarkable harmony. Then the wine enchants with an exceptional mouthfeel. A mere touch is enough to convince, with unparalleled delicacy, with the precision of a master goldsmith, and with that astonishing ability to dazzle without overwhelming. There are watts, yes, but there is so much silk, delicacy, power, and passion. The wine follows a linear course, unfolding in one seamless line with breathtaking serenity, with a disconcerting ability to harness so much energy and power while delivering just as much finesse and depth. This is Canon. It’s immense. Very moving.

Deep black color. An intense, refined, fruity nose and above all profound—the same depth encountered at Latour or Cheval Blanc. Nuances of cool black fruit. A core of blackberry. With aeration, the wine becomes more floral, finer, and even more beautiful as the glass is swirled. Broad on the attack, brimming with fruit through the mid-palate, with real class to the texture; then suddenly the pace shifts, the wine tightens and gains muscle, delivering extraordinary depth of flavor while remaining poised and meltingly smooth. Immense, complex length—brilliant and bursting with fruit. It’s magical. Blend: 76% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Franc. Alcohol: 14% – pH: 3.5 – IPT: 70 versus an average of 60. Yield: 40 hl/ha. 100% grand vin. Aging: 16 to 18 months, 49% new oak, 7% in foudres. Harvest began on August 28, the earliest date, and ended on September 18, also the earliest. For the record, the separate lots tasted before malolactic fermentation already gave an original, wonderful signal in which Cabernet Franc and Merlot were indistinguishable. And the Marie Gabrielle parcel made me think of Chambertin. A Burgundy reference often perceived when tasting château Canon over the years. This knowledge lies in the heart, intuition, and savoir-faire of Stéphane Bonnasse, winemaker, who delivers this splendid interpretation to the world. Merlot harvest: August 28 to September 13 – Cabernet Franc: September 13 to September 18.

As so often, a bouquet of great nobility and real depth: dark and red berries, violet, mint, with a cool, stony expression. The palate is focused, very vertical—what intensity—yet with a dancer’s lightness; delicate fruit, perfectly ripe tannins, beautifully structured, with redcurrant and plenty of salinity on an almost endlessly long finish.