Château Canon, 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion, 2023
It's almost a given that Nicolas Audebert and team will make a glorious wine at Canon, and sure enough 2023 didn't disappoint. A wonderful fragrant bouquet of violets, pine forest, chalky minerals and spices. The palate is suave and refined with an eclectic array of fruits and minerals, expressive but not lavish, all controlled by a vivid, almost creamy core of mulberry fruit, full of energy, bright yet relaxed, totally harmonious, enveloped by finely textured tannins. There's wonderful energy and tension here to the salty, persistent finish. Impeccable. 71% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Franc.
critic reviews
This remains relatively reserved, as it was En Primeur, with decades of ageing ahead. So confident and deft in its delivery of balanced, elegant and finessed black and blue fruits, cut through with rose petals and violet, precise tannins, and mouthwateringly moreish crushed oyster shell and campfire smoke. 50% new oak for ageing, harvest September 6 through to October 4 (with Merlot right through until the end, unlike many places, here they really waited). 45hl/ha yield, in organic conversion.
The 2023 Canon takes time to open on the nose but reveals attractive red berry fruit, pressed flowers (violet) and a very light marine influence. The palate is medium-bodied with pliant tannins. A little spicier than I recall from barrel, with hints of cinnamon and sage, you can feel the tongue tingling after the wine has exited thanks to a pinch of cracked black pepper. Though the 2023 does not quite touch recent peaks, I appreciate the linearity of this Canon and it should age well in bottle.
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.