Château Canon 2023

This is so elegant and sophisticated already, with a really electric presence and length that goes on and on. It's medium- to full-bodied with an intensity of tannins. It remains weightless and energetic. The pH is 3.41, making this a vivid and lively wine. Currant, orange and stone. Sea salt, too. The limestone soils created a unique wine here in 2023. A blend of 71% merlot and 29% cabernet franc.

70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc Canon weckt zunächst die Freude an Harmonie, die Begeisterung am Wein in einem Kontext von Subtilität und Authentizität, in dieser Art und Weise, die uns daran erinnert, dass wir es trotz der Verherrlichung durch unsere Worte und unsere Geschmacksnerven in erster Linie einfach mit einem Wein zu tun haben, der nur darauf wartet, genossen zu werden! Das Bouquet von Canon positioniert sich auf zarte, aber entschlossene Weise, mit einer filigranen und vollendeten Präzision. Der Auftakt beeindruckt in seiner seidigen, eleganten, weinigen Logik. Canon hat Charakter, Charme, Fülle und die Fähigkeit, viele Details in einem umfangreichen Kontext zu enthüllen. Ein relevanter, präziser Wein, vom Bouquet bis zum Finale. Wenn sich Exzellenz mit Bescheidenheit profilieren kann, beginnt man von einer Oase der Ruhe zu träumen, in der nur der Genuss das Sagen hat! 2028-2053

Dunkle, purpurrote und lebhafte Farbe. Intensive Nase, fein, rein, fruchtig, subtil und edel. Am Gaumen fein, dann sofort füllig, mit Klasse am Gaumen und einem komplexen Aromenhintergrund, gleichzeitig fein, vornehm und tiefgründig, der Wein geht langsam in den Abgang über, beständig in seiner Entwicklung, rein und edel. Das ist großartig. Das ist Canon! Zusammensetzung: 71% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Franc. Alkoholgehalt: 14° - pH: 3,41 - Mostgewicht: 8 %. Ertrag: 45 hl/ha. Ausbau in 50% neuem Holz, davon 3 Fässer.

Wafting from the glass with aromas of mulberries and raspberries mingled with spices, rose petals, licorice and violets, the 2023 Canon is another brilliant wine from a property whose excellence can almost be taken for granted. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's seamless and concentrated, its vibrant core of fruit framed by sweet, powdery tannins and girdled by lively acids, concluding with a long, mineral finish. As I've written before, Château Canon was once something of a sleeping giant, but today it has well and truly reawakened. Extensive replanting between 1996 and 2003, overseen by Nicolas Audebert's predecessor, John Kolasa, saw some 50% of the estate's 22 hectares replaced. The fact that these vines are now arriving at full maturity surely goes some way to accounting for Canon's contemporary renaissance. Now, the team is working on restructuring the rest, combining massal selections and clones. Viticulture is thoughtful, with cover crops across the estate, and the terroir itself is relatively homogeneous: solid limestone covered by some 0.25 to 0.7 meters of clay, with a more or less uniform exposition on Saint-Émilion's plateau. There's also one small parcel in the town itself and another by Berliquet. Today, the vineyard is planted with about 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc, and there are no plans to radically alter that. Winemaking privileges finesse over power, though a certain richness and texture can be taken for granted with a site like this, and maturation is in 50% new oak (mostly from Taransaud, Demptos, Sylvain and Quintessence). Today, the focus is on increasing precision and refinement, rather than revolution. And well it might be, for why change a winning team?