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Château Canon

161

Address: BP 22, 33330 St Emilion

Telephone:  +33 (0)5 57 55 23 45

E-mail: contact@chateau-canon.com

Website: www.chateau-canon.com

The Fournier family, who owned Château Canon since 1919, sold the estate to perfume and couture house Chanel in 1996. John Kolasa, the winemaker at Château Rauzan-Ségla, is was the director here until his retirement in 2015. Top class wines at Château Canon, very fine and pure, with great balance which allows the wines to age beautifully. Beautiful wines in 2009, 2010 and 2015.

Vineyard/Terroir: 29 hectares in production on St Emilion’s clay/limestone plateau and sandy plots, planted with 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc. Chateau classified Premier Grand Cru Classe group ‘B’.

Winemaking/Elévage: Traditional winemaking followed by ageing for 18-20 months in barrel with between 50-70% new oak depending on the vintage.

Tasting notes:

  • 2015 Very healthy looking in the glass; deep and purple at edge; legs; mineral tones, some chalk and wet rocks; opens up in the glass aromatically; perfumed, ripe and full; lovely blackcurrant and black cherry tones; layered and enticing; real finesse; beautifully balanced on the palate with lots of matter and substance; length. Spellbinding Canon. [72% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc, 42hl/ha, 70% new oak; 14.5% alc]. Drink 2022-2040. 96-98+
  • 2014 Mid depth; healthy looking; earthy purple at edge; purity; ripe fruit; deeper; some spicy notes from the oak and the fruit; blackcurrant and plum tones come through on the palate; perfume/floral qualities; nice clean pure fruit on the entry; just how I like it; elegance and harmony; not gritty or chewy; complete; nice finish; spicy on the end; trace of alcohol on the finish. [72% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc, 14% alc, 70% new oak]. Tasted at Canon 3 April, 2015. Drink 2022-2030+ 92-94+
  • 2013 Mid depth; pure, clean; plummy tones; pretty; palate full and voluptuous; attractive and nicely done on the middle palate; some chew on the finish but there is plenty of extract and material here; good length. Excellent effort. One of the top St Emilions of 2013. [65% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, 35 hl/ha]. Drink 2018-2030. 91-93
  • 2012 Mid depth; deepish at centre; intense and pent-up [as usual]; some mineral and wet rock notes; layered and polished; palate is all silk and spice with layers of fruit tightly woven together; there is flesh but there is nice tension between this and the grip. Serious finish. Pretty complete and fine. Drink 2016-2025. 92+ UGC Oct ’14 [Earlier note] Deep, saturated colour; legs; very vibrant nose; lots of cherry, dark chocolate and plums, surprisingly voluptuous and seductive; some spice here too; wonderfully plump palate with lots of wonderfully attractive fruit; very lush and full; yes there is structure beneath but a very plush Canon. Lush and full. 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc. 14% 92-94+ Tasted at Chateau Canon Friday April 12, 2013
  • 2011 Deep and saturated; intense and pent-up on the nose; tight; some wet rock and cassis fruit; quite grippy on the palate but layers of fruit; chewy and tannic and needs time. Fresh acids here. Will be long-lived and needs a bit of time to come round. Never particularly forward here – the wines are usually intense and pretty structured – but this feels particularly tight at present. See how it develops. Drink 2018-2028. 90+ UGC Oct ’13 [Earlier note] Deep but a little less concentrated than some [not a bad thing]; healthy looking; nice black cherry notes, more vibrant fruit than either Pavie or Troplong Mondot; fresher; leaner nose but seemingly more fine; nice layers on the palate; fine and elegant; very nicely judged. This still works really well in this vintage. Focused and precise. Tannin at the end but very good. 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc. Tasted blind at Groupement de Premiers Grands Crus Classes de Saint-Emilion at Chateau Canon 6/4/12. 92-93+
  • 2010 Dense and dark looking; little chalky note at first; then more lifted on aeration with red fruits and spices; some resin; layered; palate fine and tightly packed with fruit; mocha and red fruit tones; little dry and tannic on the finish. Needs some time. Weighty [15 degrees]. Drink 2018-2030. 93+ MW Institute Nov ’14 [Earlier note] Deep and dense; some chalk, red fruits and some depth; ripe and with lots of extract; deep; big but pure; some grip and texture and extract; not overly tannic, but ripe tannin not too pushed.  Promising effort, pretty structured overall but plenty of fruit here and a pure style; not over-played. 92+  UGC Oct ’12 [Earlier] Deep and saturated, tight to rim; rich and ripe on nose, shows real concentration; unctuousness; relatively simple by comparison with previous [Trottevielle] but very pure; real purity in fact; quite a lot of puppy fat here; real ripeness; lacks some of the complexity of the last but lots of fruit and density; feels alcoholic; some length, bit hot. 91-93/100 Tasted April 6 Groupement de Premiers Grands Crus Classes de Saint-Emilion.
  • 2009 Deep colour and tight to the rim; inky and intense; stones and wet-rocks; ripe and rich with lots of saturation but remains clean and pure. Very long and classical. Lots of material tightly coiled and needs time. Drink 2019-2035 93+ MW Institute Nov ’13 [Earlier note] Mid red; quite thick looking; creamy, mineral nose; fine; chew and density on the palate; minerality again; dense; crushed rocks; ripeness too, figs, but still sinewy and dense; held in cheque; muscular certainly but no trace of jam here. Serious and [deliberately] not flamboyant, nevertheless this is a very fine effort. 93-94/100 UGC Oct ’11 [Earlier] Dense to rim; very intense and layered nose; pent up but with real intensity; concentrated, serious and not showy. Palate similar; intense, serious with good concentration and intensity; tannic and structure here. Will fill out. Serious and quite long haul here. [Later] Attractive creamy note; palate fine; structured and very well done. 92-94+/100 Primeurs April ’10.
  • 2008 Mid depth; deepish core; steely, some spicy, blackcurrant notes; quite sturdy feel; feels fresh. Chewy palate with lots of grip and extract. Firm in acid and in tannin. Classical. 90 MW Institute Nov ’12 [Earlier] Mid red; some depth, strong nose of minerals, stones also mint and menthol; intense palate with minty menthol note which is attractive; ripeness here with typical intensity, taut yes but with layers. Extremely well made and tannins well managed. Intense and concentrated but also maintains some elegance. Extremely fine 92+/100 UGC Oct ‘10
  • 2007 Deep centre; red fruits, some meal and mineral tones; feels quite pent up; dense palate with some sweetness [red fruits] and chalkiness; tannin on the finish. A pretty good effort but less thrilling than I remember. 88/100 MW Institute Nov ’11 [Earlier] Mid red; depth and dark at core; little dumb at first; some stone and mineral quality here; spice and tobacco at the edge; palate quite tight and intense; fine wine with good depth; not that showy but good seam of fruit; good depth and length. Quite fine. 90/100 UGC tasting Oct ‘09
  • 2006 Very deep and intense looking; intense and precise nose with real focus [at last!]; layers and density with stones and minerals beneath, tightly wound; palate has real purity and feels layered and focused – not merely explosive. Some hardness to the tannins nevertheless but the chew and intensity of the fruit seems appropriate and proportional to the tannin. Potentially very fine.  90+/100 ’10 MW Institute Nov ‘10
  • 2005 Deep at centre; warm red at edge; tobacco; vanilla; spices; glossy; warm black fruits; sweet fruit on entry; Golden Virginia notes; chocolate; spices; black fruit tones again; blackcurrants; olive notes; nice chew and density; [this has just started its drinking window]; excellent length. Has a decade of further improvement ahead of it. Wonderful stuff already! [80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 60% new oak]. Drink 2015-2025. 96+ Tasted April, 2015 at Canon.

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