- CRITICAL REVIEWS
- WINEMAKER NOTES
JD
98
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.
Reviewed by Jeb Dunnuck, Issue date: March 2021. Drinking window: 2025 - 2055.
RP
97
Robert Parker Wine Advocate
(Rating 97+) 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.
Reviewed by Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Issue date: March 2021. Drinking window: 2025 - 2052.
2018 Chateau Canon Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, France
LE 1ER GRAND CRU CLASSÉ
Canon’s wines reflect the huge rigour of the saint-emilion plateau. Freshness hones the huge voluptuousness. A pure, clean nectar that draws all of the minerality’s tension. A fine wine. The protruding power of the vine rooted in the rock.
PERSONNALITY
Château Canon offers a masterful, full, direct personality. The opulence of the fruit creates tension with the mineral freshness. A game of light and shadows between the quarries and the plateau. Reflecting the vineyard’s density of sunlight.
Indomitable fullness. A favourite. Ageing potential.
THE TENSION & MINERALITY OF THE PLATEAU
This refined, slender and vertical vintage owes its balance to the sophisticated structure from the limestone soils.
2018 VINTAGE
2018 is vibrant from the first nose thanks to its brilliant fruit. An aromatic explosion that mingles aromas ofcherries with delicious notes of marzipan ... Minty notes of cedar and rose provide a burst of freshness. Carried by this ethereal balance, the wine then reveals its depth and density. It is full-blooded and full-bodied, yet always elegant. The palate is broad, the tannins refined and silky. It possesses the delectable tangy sweetness of a Bakewell tart. This 2018 shows all the power and grace of a prima ballerina, lost in her art.
WEATHER CONDITIONS
Winter: mild and rainy
Spring: mild and humid
Summer: very sunny with cool nights
Autumn: indian Summer
HARVEST TIME
Merlot: from September 7th to 27th
Cabernet Franc: from October 2nd to 5th
YIELD
42hl / ha
AGEING
18 months with 52% new barrels for Château Canon & 38% for Croix Canon
Winter: mild and rainy
Spring: mild and humid
Summer: very sunny with cool nights
Autumn: indian Summer
HARVEST TIME
Merlot: from September 7th to 27th
Cabernet Franc: from October 2nd to 5th
YIELD
42hl / ha
AGEING
18 months with 52% new barrels for Château Canon & 38% for Croix Canon
ALCOHOL LEVEL
14%
pH
3,69
CHÂTEAU CANON BLENDING
72% Merlot
28% Cabernet Franc
CROIX CANON BLENDING
65% Merlot
35% Cabernet Franc
14%
pH
3,69
CHÂTEAU CANON BLENDING
72% Merlot
28% Cabernet Franc
CROIX CANON BLENDING
65% Merlot
35% Cabernet Franc
CHÂTEAU CANON’S VINEYARD
34 hectares
34 hectares
SURFACE AREA
24 hectares dedicated to Château Canon,
1er Grand Cru Classé
10 hectares dedicated to Croix Canon,
2nd wine of Château Canon
SOIL
Clay-limestone plateau
EXPOSURE OF THE VINEYARD
South/Southwest
DENSITY OF PLANTATION
Between 6,500 and 7,200 plants/ha
AVERAGE AGE OF THE VINES
30 years
24 hectares dedicated to Château Canon,
1er Grand Cru Classé
10 hectares dedicated to Croix Canon,
2nd wine of Château Canon
SOIL
Clay-limestone plateau
EXPOSURE OF THE VINEYARD
South/Southwest
DENSITY OF PLANTATION
Between 6,500 and 7,200 plants/ha
AVERAGE AGE OF THE VINES
30 years
GRAPE VARIETIES PLANTED
70% Merlot
30% Cabernet Franc
HARVEST
By hand and transported in small crates
SORTING
Manual selection
VINIFICATION
Separate vinification, vatting using gravity, into conical shaped stainless steel vats with a double walled system for temperature control. Malolactic: 1/3 in new barrels
and 2/3 in stainless steel vats.
70% Merlot
30% Cabernet Franc
HARVEST
By hand and transported in small crates
SORTING
Manual selection
VINIFICATION
Separate vinification, vatting using gravity, into conical shaped stainless steel vats with a double walled system for temperature control. Malolactic: 1/3 in new barrels
and 2/3 in stainless steel vats.
AGEING
In French oak barrel, with a medium or medium-long toasting.
In French oak barrel, with a medium or medium-long toasting.