EP23 Release: Canon 2023 "Absolutely ethereal!" 98-100pts LPB
Bordeaux Index
5 June 2024
Haute Couture St-Emilion Grand Cru, Château Canon, releases their 2023 today at GBP 1074 per 12 IB.
Fashioned with 71/29 Merlot and Cab Franc from some of the most desirable terroir on St-Emilion’s limestone plateau, Canon’s 2023 is a seamlessly crafted wine, replete with fabulous energies and chakras that turn what is a consumable beverage into a work of high art.
“The limestone soils created a unique wine here in 2023” JS
“2023 Canon is another brilliant wine from a property” WK
“Absolutely ethereal!” LPB
Tasting the final blend direct from individual barrels was a revelation this year – both grapes resonated their individuality within the embrace of the estate’s extraordinary terroir, revealing depth, nuance and intensity the like of which was in short supply this vintage. Needless to say, if you want to touch base with your inner self and connect with the soul of St-Emilion’s limestone magic, look no further, this is the wine for you!
“Excellent. Again.” NM
“an ultra-classic wine from this terroir…gorgeous” JD
2023 Canon
99-100pts JS James Suckling “This is so elegant and sophisticated already, with a really electric presence and length that goes on and on. It's medium- to full-bodied with an intensity of tannins. It remains weightless and energetic. The pH is 3.41, making this a vivid and lively wine. Currant, orange and stone. Sea salt, too. The limestone soils created a unique wine here in 2023. A blend of 71% merlot and 29% cabernet franc.”
98-100pts LPB The Wine Independent “A blend of 71% Merlot and 29% Cabernet Franc, the 2023 Canon has a pH of 3.42 and it will age in barriques for 16-18 months, of which 50% are new. It is deep garnet-purple in color and sails out of the glass with bold notions of juicy blueberries, fresh plums, and Bing cherries, giving way to hints of black pepper, fragrant soil, and violets. The medium to full-bodied palate shimmers with energetic black and blue fruits, framed by super-satiny tannins and compelling tension, finishing long and fragrant. Absolutely ethereal!”
97-99pts JL The Wine Cellar Insider “Violets, roses, and lilacs kick off the floral display. You also find cherries, plums, black raspberries, cigar box, and spice, with a touch of licorice. There is a balance between the vivacity, and sweetness, a strong sense of crushed rocks, and stones, depth, and intensity. The finish is racy, in all the best ways, which is the perfect backdrop for the wine's layers of salt-tinged fruits that linger. The best part of the wine is that the fruit expresses a beautiful sense of purity, with no hard . edges. The wine blends 71% Merlot with 29% Cabernet Franc. 14% ABV. 3.41. Harvesting took place September 6 - October 4. The length of the harvest is one of the key points to the vintage, as the estate was able to stop, start, and wait for phenolic ripeness. Drink from 2030- 2060.”
96-98pts WK The Wine Advocate “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.”
96pts JA Inside Bordeaux “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.”
94-96pts NM Vinous “The 2023 Canon was picked from around 6 September to 6 October at 45hL/ha and matured in 50% new oak. It has a perfumed bouquet with pure black cherries and touches of cassis and violet. The oak is beautifully integrated. Perhaps if I have to quibble, it is not quite as complex as the very best recent vintages, but that's a high bar nowadays. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black cherry fruit laced with iodine, and veins of blue fruit. There is a sorbet-like freshness embroidered throughout this Canon, and it delivers a lovely cracked black pepper note on the finish. Excellent. Again.”
94-96pts AG Vinous “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.”
94-96pts JD Jeb Dunnuck “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.”
