Château Canon 2022

Château Canon is a property that has experienced a meteoric rise in quality.  The most recent vintage, the 2020, has been ranked as having 100 point potential.  The demand is off the charts for this wine, and many critics consider the grand vin from Château Canon to be the Right Bank wine of the vintage.  Since this estate was acquired by the Wertheimer family who made their fortunes as the owners of the famous luxury goods manufacturer, Chanel, the wine from this Saint-Émilion Premiere Grand Crus Classés Class B property has never been better.  Of all the producers on the Right Bank, Château Canon is definitely one of the ones to watch.

Château Canon has a very interesting history indeed.  The estate was initially a part of the Clos St. Martin vineyard in the 1700s.  Just 60 years later the estate was acquired by Jacques Kanon, a pirate who made his fortune plundering the high seas.  Jaques Kanon expanded the vineyard and ordered construction of the original château to be completed in 1767.  The property was then sold to Raymond Fontemoing, a Bordeaux négociant after being owned by Jaques Kanon for a decade.  The Fontemoing family owned a property in Fronsac named Château Canon, and they named the estate Château Canon in an effort to expand their brand presence. The estate changed hands multiple times until it was acquired by the Wertheimer family.  The Wertheimer family is no stranger to the wine industry, and it is an empirical fact that they have the magic touch. After acquiring Château Berliquet in Saint-Émilion, they turned that property into a rising star.  The Wertheimer family are also owners of the esteemed Second Growth Château, Rauzan Ségla, a property now considered to have, "Super Second," status.  After acquiring Château Canon,  they were willing to spare no expense in renovating the property, and they had their work cut out for them.

The vineyards were disease-ridden, and the limestone quarries and tunnels were very much on the brink of collapse.  In 2012 the estate had a very extensive renovation which was finished in 2015.  The team hired Nicolas Audebert of Cheval des Andes to oversee operations and he made the intelligent hiring decision to bring on Thomas Duclos as a consultant.  Since then, the 34-hectare property has had a dramatic rise in quality.  The limestone terroir is planted with a mixture of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc. Château Canon has excellent neighbors, with views of esteemed estates like Château Quintus and Château Angelus.  The majority of the vines are 30 years old, though there are some vines that date to the end of the 1930s. 

The wine of Château Canon is vinified in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. It is then aged in French oak barrels for 18 months.  Château Canon is a formidable expression of Right Bank terroir.  For those who love the mineral-laced wines of Saint-Émilion and their ripe flavors of dark berries – Château Canon is a very worthy purchase.  Yet with all that in mind, the wine demands time to age and reveal its subtle intricacies.  For those who are willing to wait, they will be rewarded with a truly stunning wine.

"From an estate that is delivering its greatest run of vintages since the superb Post War series that preceded the frosts of 1956, the 2022 Canon is a magical wine that will be worth every effort to track down. Wafting from the glass with aromas of dark berries, wild plums and cherries mingled with hints of bay leaf, spices and violets, it's full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, with huge levels of concentration, vibrant acids and beautifully refined tannins. Concluding with a long, saline finish, this pure, perfumed and ineffably complete Canon is built for the ages, even if its structural polish is such that it will be approachable at a surprisingly early age." - William Kelley, The Wine Advocate, (04/28/2023), Ratings: 99-100 

"Tasted on three separate occasions (and I thought it had the potential to be a perfect wine on one of those), the 2022 Château Canon is an incredible wine in the making, and it might be the finest in the series starting in 2015. A blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc harvested between August 30 and September 22, it comes from yields of 45 hectoliters per hectare and hit 14.5% alcohol. The élevage will run 16-18 months in just 30% new French oak. As classy as they come, it has a beautiful perfume of red and blue fruits as well as notes of white flowers, truffly earth, woodsmoke, and forest floor. With incredible density, a multi-layered texture, ultra-fine tannins, and integrated acidity, this incredible Canon will evolve for 30-40 years. I finished my rough note on this with "Pure class." - Jeb Dunnuck, Bordeaux 2022 En Primeur, (05/10/2023), Ratings: 97-99+

"The inky intensity of the colour might make you worry that the limestone signature will be swamped, but it is very much guiding proceedings on the palate here. Expect waves of red roses, rhubarb, pink grapefruit, salinity, but also real intensity, there is a depth and complexity that quite stunning as the wine expands through the palate, with creamy blue and black fruits, and a mouthwatering oyster shell finish. 45hl/h, 3.5ph, 50% new oak, with four larger-sized oak casks. A standout in the vintage, more proof of the exceptional level that Canon is playing at right now. 50% new oak." - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux, (04/14/2023), Ratings: 98, Drink: 2032-2050

"A superb Canon in 2022. Supple, shiny, oh so charming, gorgeously sleek and well textured like pure silk but with density to the tannins that grips and coats the mouth, plus you know there's such power and concentration underneath in the waves of liquorice, stones, blackcurrant fruit. Extremely polished and charming. Vibrant, energetic, tense, and straight. It's not plush, more direct, but this wine thrills. Seamless and effortless, bright and energetic but with such a calm control and confidence. A stunning wine more for what it doesn't say than what it does in 2022. A yield of 45hl/ha. pH 3.5. 18 months ageing with 50% new oak. Harvest 30 August - 22 September." - Georgina Hindle, Decanter, (05/25/2023), Ratings: 98