Chateau Canon - St. Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classe 2019

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2019 Bordeaux Futures are being offered without any added tariffs. If there are applicable tariffs at the time the wines are imported in 2022, we will contact you with the option to pay tariffs to have the wine delivered, or cancel the order with no penalty.

Chateau Canon Description

Nicolas Audebert told us that Canon 2019 tastes like a hypothetical blend of his already legendary 2015 and 2016 vintages. It has the charm, ripeness and softness of tannins of the 2015 with - at the same time - the juiciness, the blood, freshness and tension of the 2016. Two personalities in one bottle, but they are not fighting against each other - they just take the wine to a different level. Nicolas described Canon 2019 as a bomb and in his opinion it is best vintage that he has had produced in his five years at the Chateau. He describes it as being explosive, juicy, intense, with lots of density and volume but yet not losing, at any time, precision and freshness. The finish is long, mineral and very representative of the terroir. It’s very Canon. He likes the image of a kilo of feathers although, in the case of the 19, its many kilos! He says that there is a lot of wine here but it never lose the precision that he fights to achieve. Precision is his obsession while others look for power and structure. He likes the perfect definition of the tannins and the elegance of the balance. The challenge, he adds, is to go as far as he can in term of ripeness and density without losing the tension and that is what he feels he has achieved perfectly in 2019. He is convinced that Canon 2019 will become an iconic wine and the modern-day version of the famous 1955 produced here.

The blend in 2019 is 74% Merlot and 26% Cabernet Franc, with 14.5% abv. The yield is a healthy 45hl/ha. The vatting period was extended to 30 days due to the quality of the tannins, to create a fuller structure. The wine will be aged in 50% new French oak for 18 months. Deep ruby colour with rich, slightly smoky red cherry fruit on the nose, layered with floral overtones and a hint of kirsch. Layered and fine, with subtle and integrated oak. The palate is multi-dimensional with initially fresh red fruits building sweetness and depth to reveal darker, riper cherries and forest fruit through the mid-palate. As always here, the tannins are ultra-refined, offering a round, creamy, cashmere texture. The Cabernet Franc adds herbal lift and a real graphite minerality that builds into a savoury and lightly smoky note on the finish. The predominant flavour that drives this however is still that pure, fresh red fruit. A fantastic and moreish, focused wine in 2019. Tasted in Bordeaux.

Farr Vintners, Farr Tasting, May 2020

The Wine Independent: 100 Points

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Canon prances out with showy notes of wild blueberries, fresh boysenberries, and black raspberries giving way to fragrant scents of sassafras, cumin seed, star anise, and red roses. The full-bodied palate delivers waves of bright black and blue fruits with wonderful freshness and plush, rounded tannins, finishing long and energetic.

Jane Anson: 100 Points

74% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Franc. Château Canon has been taking off over the past few years, and here you see why. Just so much complexity, depth, power, interest in the whole thing. This buzzes with life, rises above the palate, full of gunsmoke, truffle, raspberry, blueberry, so delicious. Needs time but already showing it will be worth the wait. 45hl/h, 3.5ph, Harvest September 11 to October 4, 50% new oak. Thomas Duclos consults.

Decanter: 98 Points

"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."-Jane Anson, MW

Vinous: 98 Points

"The 2019 Canon is creamy and layered. A wine of immense charm and sensuality, the 2019 is immediately appealing today, but also clearly has the potential to age for many decades. The 2019 is not as exuberant as most recent vintages, and yet its balance is simply magnificent. Readers can expect an aristocratic Saint-Émilion that is holding so much in reserve. Patience is key. Tasted three times."-Antonio Galloni

Jeb Dunnuck: 98 Points

"The 2019 Chateau Canon is another brilliant wine from this talented team that delivers everything you could want from this incredible terroir located on the upper limestone plateau. Based on 74% Merlot and 26% Cabernet Franc, it has a pure, incredibly refined, yet still powerful profile that takes time to unwind. Offering up beautiful notes of black raspberries, wild strawberries, spring flowers, chalky minerality, and graphite, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a layered, multi-dimensional mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, and a finish that's something to behold. This isn't the massive style of the 2015 and reminds me slightly of the 2016. It's perfectly balanced and, again, the purity and finesse are off the charts. It needs to be forgotten for 4-5 years and enjoyed over the following 2-3 decades. Hats off to Nicolas Audebert for another sensational wine."-Jeb Dunnuck

Wine Advocate: 97 Points

"The 2019 Canon has turned out brilliantly in bottle, wafting from the glass with complex aromas of raspberries and red plums mingled with notions of raw cocoa, dark chocolate, pencil shavings and rose petals. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and multidimensional, it's one of the most refined, elegant right bank wines of the vintage, with a deep core of fruit, beautifully refined tannins, lively acids and a long, perfumed finish. This is a superb achievement for Nicolas Audebert and his team."-William Kelley