2015 Château Canon

Seductive. The nose draws you in deep: It’s like staring into a well of pristine dark cherries, dark plums, blackberries and mulberries. All the oak is perfectly subsumed. The palate’s flawless with immense depth and power and it’s so balanced as to appear to float. Immaculate fresh dark-berry and plum flavors. Silky and deep, ribbon-like finish. Perfect. Best from 2022.

One of the wines of the vintage is the 2015 Château Canon which is 72% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc that spent 18 months in 70% new French oak. It offers a perfect example of the old saying “iron fist in a velvet glove” and boasts gorgeous notes of black cherries, framboise, spring flowers and exotic spices. All these lead to a full-bodied, ultra-pure, seamless 2015 that marries incredible richness and depth with a sense of purity, elegance, and weightlessness that needs to be tasted to believed. This multi-dimensional, seamless 2015 needs forgotten for 4-5 years and will keep for three decades or more. Bravo!

Château Canon has, for decades, been a household name among the St-Emilion 1er Grand Cru Classé. This vintage was a watershed moment in the transformation of the estate, which now vies for wine of the vintage year after year. To find it top in this extensive blind tasting was proof of its relatively new stature. Blend of 72% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc with malolactic conducted one third in new barrels and two-thirds in stainless steel vats. Gareth Birchley: A beautiful nose. Coconutty oak. Elegant, with lovely concentration, a wonderful texture and fine tannins. This is great, with years to burn. Vincenzo Arnese: Good freshness and richness. Elegant, with good ripeness, well-handled tannins and integrated oak. Stylish. Arthur Coggill: Very forward but has depth. Bright red fruit, some kirsh and rose tea. Supple and generous. Oodles of juicy fruit on the mid-palate. Straightforward, not trying too hard, and delicious because of it.