Château Canon 2020

Strikingly complex and precise, with superb fruit, remarkable freshness and first-class tannins, elegant despite a also perceptible richness due to the vintage; superbly crafted.

Suavely rendered, this glides along with a cashmere feel, letting gently steeped black currant and black cherry fruit unfurl slowly, while hints of alder, sweet tobacco and warm earth appear in the background. A subtle smoldering edge enhances the finish. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2024 through 2037.

This wine is rich while also stylish. Big tannins and structure are sublimated into a wine poised between great fruit and long-lasting structure. The wine will age well. Drink from 2027.

Acquired by the Wertheimer family, owners of Chanel, in 1996, Château Canon occupies a prime position on the limestone plateau of St-Emilion. Major vineyard restructuring and a full cellar renovation (completed in 2015), allied to the arrival of Nicolas Audebert as managing director in 2014, have marked a clear renaissance. With the long-term resources and vision of Chanel behind it, in prime territory just west of the town, Canon stands out as a historic property that has been thoughtfully and meticulously brought back to the forefront of the appellation. Georgie Hindle: Smooth and seamless, supple, soft and understated, with a mineral undercurrent. Juicy, crystalline, pure, so finessed. Nothing out of place, really harmonious. Arthur Coggill: Spiced red berries, damson, cedar touches. Floods the mouth with spiced, grippy but refreshing red berry juice. Lovely aromatic lift. Tom King: Ripe fruit, tar and herbaceous aromas, then a plump, fruit-driven palate. The tannins do their job, but there’s a lovely succulence and frankness.

Black cherries, fresh herbs, lemon rind, and violets on the nose. Crushed stone, too. Medium to full body with super fine tannins that run the length of the wine. It goes on for minutes. A great wine. Try after 2027, but already thoroughly gorgeous. A classical Canon.

The 2020 Canon is a wine of mind-blowing purity and nuance. It has been nothing less than thrilling on the three occasions I have tasted it so far. Intensely saline and chalky, the 2020 possesses spellbinding finesse and nuance. Red-toned fruit, crushed rocks, white pepper, rose petal and mint all come alive in the glass, buttressed by clean saline notes that extend the mid-palate into the finish. There is simply nothing like great Canon. And the 2020 is unquestionably a great Canon.

A stunning textural experience with its silky, velvet-drenched profile. Aromatically, you find flowers, black, red and blue fruits, licorice, and crushed rocks in the perfume. On the palate, the wine is all about its polished silk profile, which is the perfect backdrop for all of its layers of sensuous fruits, freshness and purity, finishing with a touch of salt on the backend. The seamless finish delivers length going on for over 50 seconds. Drink from 2025-2060.

Dark ruby, purple reflections, broadening rim. Red wild berries, a hint of liquorice, fine tobacco nuances and tangerine zest, mineral touch. Juicy, red cherries, delicately salty, integrated ripe tannins, tight-knit, lemony nuances, elegant and refined, good ageing potential.

Dark inky purple core and hue. Wild raspberry, plum, violet, mild oak and spice. Medium weight with dense young fruit - digest with polished tannin and a fresh acidity leading to a long finish.

Kunz Fassprobe 2021: a dense, deep, elegant bouquet with strawberry jelly, blueberries, fine woods, pralines and slate. A tightly knit, finely detailed, elegant palate with a silky, compact structure, concentrated fruit, plenty of very fine tannin, a complex, fresh aromatic profile, and a very long, intense finish with refined lingering notes.

A dense, deep, elegant bouquet: strawberry jelly, blueberries, fine woods, pralines, slate. A tightly knit, finely detailed, elegant palate with a silky, dense structure, concentrated fruit, plenty of very fine tannins, and a complex, fresh aromatic profile. Very long, compact finish with subtle echoing flavors. 19/20 2026 - 2050

Stunning, grab-a-friend, insanely good wine. The structure and tannic grip manage to be both barely there and tightly controlling, giving form and space for the raspberry, blueberry and pomegrante fruits to crowd in the palate, followed by oyster shell salinity, pummice stone scrape and electic points of mandarin peel and lemon grass. Finished with pure no messing about juiciness. 50% new barrels, 3.53ph. Harvest 4 September to 23 September. 50% new oak, 40hl/ha yield. Thomas Duclos consultant, Nicolas Audebert director.

The 2020 Canon is composed of 68% Merlot and 32% Cabernet Franc. Deep purple-black colored, it leaps with gregarious notions of red currant jelly, fresh, crunchy plums, and wild blueberries, leading to suggestions of cedar chest, violets, clove oil, and licorice with a waft of truffles. The full-bodied palate is chock-full of vibrant black and red berry layers, supported by super-plush tannins and fantastic tension, finishing long and energetic. Gorgeous!

92-93

An infinite sensuality emanates from the 2020. This vintage is, of course, beautifully expressed through brilliant fruit and reveals floral nuances. There is tremendous finesse in this wine, with a very delicate textural grain and tannins. A charmingly velvety mouthfeel takes shape on the palate, and a magnificent limestone sensation chisels out a chalky finish that crackles on the tongue. Everything is in place for this wine to evolve with grace and energy. Thrilling!

The nose is dreamily refined and extraordinarily complex, with swirling aromas of iris and powdery notes, incense, red fruits and fresh cocoa... On the palate, the creamy, pure and vibrant texture gives a sensation of weightlessness, as if a veil of silk were floating through the air, before a finish that is both fresh and deliciously indulgent. What surprising freshness and delicacy for a warm vintage.

What a wealth of nuance in Canon’s bouquet, both fruity and spicy. It reveals notes of pink peppercorn, cranberry, and dark berries, followed by a touch of anise and peonies. Complex, in a word! Canon’s signature breadth is certainly there on the palate, though perhaps less overt than usual… and that’s a very good thing; it opens up new dimensions. The tannins are precise, with an exceptionally fine grain. The wine is harmonious, linear, serene, and powerful. To be subtly powerful… that is an art!