2012 Château Canon, St Emilion, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
Neal Martin - 31/03/2017
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com, 26 Apr 2013
James Molesworth, Wine Spectator, April 8 2013
Owned by the Wertheimers (also the proprietors of the enormously successful haut-couture house of Chanel), this is a pure, stylish, nicely textured, impressive effort from a superb terroir on the limestone plateau of St.-Emilion. The final blend was 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc, and yields were a modest 35 hectoliters per hectare.
Robert Parker - Wine Advocate #206 - Apr 2013
James Lawther MW, Decanter, April 2013
About this WINE
Chateau Canon
Château Canon, a famous St.Emilion property is named after Jacques Kanon who bought the estate in 1760. Since 1996 it has been owned by Chanel, who also owns Château Rauzan-Ségla in Margaux.
Located in the centre of the St.Emilion appellation, to the south-west of St-Emilion town, Canon has 18 hectares of vineyards split between the limestone plateau and the clay/loam côtes. They are planted with 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Franc. Vinification is traditional: up to 20 days in temperature-controlled wooden vats followed by 18 months' maturation in oak barrels (70% new).
This wine needs cellaring to show at its best and mature Canon reeks of the soft, buttery Merlot grape as only the very top St-Emilions and Pomerols can. It is classified as a 1er Grand Cru Classé (B).
St Émilion
St Émilion is one of Bordeaux's largest producing appellations, producing more wine than Listrac, Moulis, St Estèphe, Pauillac, St Julien and Margaux put together. St Emilion has been producing wine for longer than the Médoc but its lack of accessibility to Bordeaux's port and market-restricted exports to mainland Europe meant the region initially did not enjoy the commercial success that funded the great châteaux of the Left Bank.
St Émilion itself is the prettiest of Bordeaux's wine towns, perched on top of the steep limestone slopes upon which many of the region's finest vineyards are situated. However, more than half of the appellation's vineyards lie on the plain between the town and the Dordogne River on sandy, alluvial soils with a sprinkling of gravel.
Further diversity is added by a small, complex gravel bed to the north-east of the region on the border with Pomerol. Atypically for St Émilion, this allows Cabernet Franc and, to a lesser extent, Cabernet Sauvignon to prosper and defines the personality of the great wines such as Ch. Cheval Blanc.
In the early 1990s there was an explosion of experimentation and evolution, leading to the rise of the garagistes, producers of deeply-concentrated wines made in very small quantities and offered at high prices. The appellation is also surrounded by four satellite appellations, Montagne, Lussac, Puisseguin and St. Georges, which enjoy a family similarity but not the complexity of the best wines.
St Émilion was first officially classified in 1954, and is the most meritocratic classification system in Bordeaux, as it is regularly amended. The most recent revision of the classification was in 2012
Merlot
The most widely planted grape in Bordeaux and a grape that has been on a relentless expansion drive throughout the world in the last decade. Merlot is adaptable to most soils and is relatively simple to cultivate. It is a vigorous naturally high yielding grape that requires savage pruning - over-cropped Merlot-based wines are dilute and bland. It is also vital to pick at optimum ripeness as Merlot can quickly lose its varietal characteristics if harvested overripe.
In St.Emilion and Pomerol it withstands the moist clay rich soils far better than Cabernet grapes, and at it best produces opulently rich, plummy clarets with succulent fruitcake-like nuances. Le Pin, Pétrus and Clinet are examples of hedonistically rich Merlot wines at their very best. It also plays a key supporting role in filling out the middle palate of the Cabernet-dominated wines of the Médoc and Graves.
Merlot is now grown in virtually all wine growing countries and is particularly successful in California, Chile and Northern Italy.
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Description
Under John Kolasa, this is an Estate that has really ramped up the quality in recent years, and 2012 is no exception. It shows a silky, seductive nose, with a core of cherry and red currant fruit, surrounded by higher toned notes of violets, autumn leaves and that toasty mocha edge. The seduction continues on the palate with sweet fleshy Merlot fruit coated by fine tannins and toasty spice notes from the oak. There is a freshness, energy and overall balance that really impresses in 2012. It is certainly one of the more successful wines from St Emilion this year.
Hong Kong Fine Wine Team
I love the weight to this wine thanks to the soft and buttery Merlot and 30 year old vines. The fruit is succulent with a richness we have come to expect from Chateau Canon. Patience is required but you will be rewarded with elegance, freshness and a brightness of fruit. 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc.
Laura Atkinson, Private Account Manager
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