Château Canon 2018

La Revue du Vin de France

VertdeVin

The nose is fruity, elegant, racy and offers a beautiful finesse of the grain, beautifully complex as well as a fine intensity. It reveals notes of ripe blackberry, ripe cassis and small notes of ripe strawberry associated with fine touches of violet, pulpy/juicy raspberry, juicy/pulpy blueberry, hints of chocolate, lilac/cornflower, caramelized oak as well as a discreet hint of iris, nutmeg, zan, very discreet hints of spices, a very discreet hint of vanilla and a subtle hint of hazelnut. This wine is multi layers and requiers patience and work in the glass to be entirely liked and understood. The palate is fruity, well-balanced, racy and offers a beautiful acidulous/juicy frame, a beautiful minerality, freshness, tension, a very beautiful finesse of the grain, density/richness as well as a beautiful definition. On the palate this wine expresses notes of fleshy/juicy/acidulous cassis, juicy/acidulous blackbery and small notes of acidulous/crunchy small red berries associated with fine touches of fresh flowers, nutmeg, toasted hazelnut and toasted almond. Tannins are elegant and offer a very fine chews. There is a subtle hint of hazelnut, vanilla, dark chocolate and an imperceptible hint of coffee on the finish/persistence. Very fine sapidity, almost saline minerality and a fine chew on the finish which bring gourmandize/appetence.

Jeff Leve, The Wine Cellar Insider

Wow, that's what I am talking about! Flowers and crushed rocks galore, with layers of sweet, perfectly ripe, cherries and plums that offers incredible purity. Elegant, silky and sexy, with a seamless finish gracefully coating your palate with endless layers of sensuously textured ripe fruits and cashmere tannins. This is effortless to drink. This will give the triple digit 2015 a run for the money when it matures. The wine blends 72% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc, 14% ABV.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

A blend of 72% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc, the 2018 Canon has a pH of 3.69 and 14% alcohol. Deep garnet-purple in color, it tumbles effortlessly out of the glass with a gorgeous perfume of candied violets, preserved plums, black cherry compote and Ceylon tea with hints of kirsch, powdered cinnamon, chocolate box and fertile loam. The medium to full-bodied palate is packed with juicy black fruit layers, supported by plush, oh-so-soft tannins and well-knit freshness, finishing long and fragrant.

“Everybody got mildew this year. Everybody,” Nicolas Audebert, Technical Director for Château Canon (and Rauzan-Ségla), told me. “We had mildew problems like any other estate. But when Château Canon was bought 20 years ago, it needed replanting. That has all been done now and it is very healthy. Here, there are no sick or dying vines—everything is producing. If we wanted to, we could get 100 hectoliters per hectare in a normal year! We got 42 hectoliters per hectare here this year. This year, we dropped all the bunches affected by the mildew.” I don’t need to tell followers of this estate that Château Canon is on an upward trajectory. The level of intensity achieved this year is truly impressive. Audebert agreed with my reference to this point. “The level of density this year is probably higher than we have ever had,

Jeb Dunnuck

The Grand Vin is the 2018 Château Canon, which is based on 72% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc brought up in 52% new French oak. Its incredible bouquet delivers richness paired with amazing freshness and precision, offering loads of crème de cassis and darker berry fruits intermixed with classic Saint-Emilion chalky minerality, graphite, scorched earth, and spring flowers. Gorgeous on the palate as well, with medium to full-bodied richness, ultra-fine tannins, flawless balance, and again, this wonderful sense of freshness paired with ample richness, it needs 4-5 years of bottle age and will evolve for 30+ years. The 2009 and 2015 are still my favorite vintages of this wine, but this is up there with the best of them.

James Suckling

Blackberries and tar with wet-earth and dark-bark aromas. Dark-chocolate and brownie notes, too. It’s full-bodied with creamy tannins and a round, caressing finish. Lovely focus and intensity, though dense and layered. Extremely creamy and polished. Really precise and bespoke. It already opens beautifully on the palate. Drink after 2025.