Château Canon 2023

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.

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?" - William Kelley, The Wine Advocate, (04/26/2024), Ratings: 96-98

"Finesse and saline limestone character on full display, spiced plum, textural as ever, with finely boned architecture, in the line of great Canon vintages, with density to the black fruits and the mouthwateringly precise tannic grip and oyster shell salinity. 50% new oak for ageing, harvest September 6 through to October 4 (with Merlot going right through until the end, unlike many places, here they really waited). 45hl/ha yield, in organic conversion. Tasted twice." - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux (04/17/2024), Ratings: 96, Drink: 2030-2048

"The 2023 Château Canon is an ultra-classic wine from this terroir offering textbook limestone-driven, black raspberry, floral, chalky, and spicy aromas and flavors. As always, it's not massive and is more medium-bodied, with a balanced, elegant mouthfeel, ripe, polished tannins, and no hard edges. It actually reminds me a little of the 2001 from this estate. It's a gorgeous wine that will evolve for 25+ years, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it drink nicely in its youth as well. Tasted multiple times." - Jeb Dunnuck, Bordeaux 2023 En Primeur, (05/08/2024), Ratings: 94-96

"A wine of classicism and reserve, the 2023 Canon is less overtly expressive than most recent vintages, keeping much of its personality in reserve. Nevertheless, I watched it grow considerably over the two weeks I spent in Bordeaux. Bright red-toned fruit, blood orange, mint and spice are some of the many notes that open in the glass. It is a wine that marries generous fruit with classical rigor. I won't be surprised if it shows even better with time. Tasted four times." - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, (04/30/2024), Ratings: 94-96