2020 Futures - Canon

Do the world's leading wine critics talk amongst themselves when rating wine?  We would like to believe they do not.  In fact, Robert Parker Jr. was famously self-isolated during his tasting and rating sessions.  He wouldn't even taste in presence of others, so he could formulate his own impressions and write his notes without outside influence.  Therefore, when the critics from the Wine Advocate, Decanter, Vinous all agreed that Château Canon 2020 is the best of the vintage, we sit up and pay attention.

A little over 25 years ago, French fashion house CHANEL entered into the world of fine wine.  It purchased the largely underperforming Margaux Second Growth estate Château Rauzan-Ségla. Two years later they acquired Château Canon, the Saint-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé.  Through consistent investment in the land and the oversight and management by the same winemaking team led by the talented Nicolas Audebert, they have since turned these properties into two of the most in-demand wines in Bordeaux today.  In recent years, they further acquired Château Berliquet in Saint-Emilion, and turned that property into a rising star.  Subscribers to our Wine of the Month program would know, as we featured Château Berliquet 2010 in our April 2021 selection.

If there is a shortlist of wines to buy from the 2020 vintage, Château Canon is a leading contender.  Unfortunately, due to limited allocations, we have to impose a limit of 3 bottles per customer.  Offers are good while supplies last.

"Sleek, elegant and appealing even before you get your nose near the glass. Aromatically it is deep and rich, and then it revs up and takes off. Dense, compact and intense, zingy limestone vibrancy and grip. Winemakers say they are looking for balance all the time, but here you feel it, with tiny pulses of electricity that appear from beginning to end of the palate. Salinity on the finish with gunsmoke and extremely moreish blueberry and blackberry fruit, with a creamy texture as things open up. 50% new oak. Thomas Duclos consults." - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate (5/20/2021) Ratings: 98-100, Drink: 2027-2062

"This is intense, structured and concentrated yet with an abundance of violet and peony notes that curl up through the tannins, combining halfway through the palate with blueberry, raspberry, tobacco, gunsmoke and sculpted, precise pulses of chalk minerality. There is just so much to talk about with this wine, but the overall impression is of dozens of carefully crafted elements that steal up on you. It's hard not to be convinced by its success - and as ever with Canon you are in no doubt as to how well it will age. Gorgeous. 50% new barrels. 3.53pH. Harvest 4 September to 23 September. 50% new oak. A yield of 40hl/ha. Could go up after tasting in bottle, a potential 100 points." - Jane Anson, Decanter (April 2021), Ratings: 98-100, Drink: 2027-2050