Château Canon, 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion, 2020
Chanel owned Chateau Canon is back to its very best. Situated on the limestone vineyards to the west of St Emilion town, the 2009 was magnificent, the 2010 could be better. Bright crimson fruit, succulent plums, cherries and high toned mineral notes leap from the glass. On the palate there is super intensity, sweet creamy fruit, concentrated and very stylish with long noble flavours. Impressive, silky, ripe and measured; this has the delicious factor!
critic reviews
The 2020 Canon is very succinct on the nose, beautifully defined with extraordinarily pure red fruit laced with pressed violet and iris flower. The oak is perfectly integrated. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins, fresh and almost citric, very vibrant and precise with a quite peppery finish. God made wine so that it can taste as good as this. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.
The brilliant 2020 Canon looks set to surpass both the 2019 and 2016 as this estate's finest wine since the post-war period, though like many of the best 2020s, it will require more patience than its 2019 counterpart. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of cherries and raspberries mingled with notions of exotic spices and iris, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with vibrant acids and beautifully polished, chalky tannins. Pure and precise, it concludes with a long, mouthwatering finish. This beautifully constructed wine communicates the essence of this superb limestone terroir, and it will be worth a special effort to track down and cellar.
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!
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.