CHATEAU CANON 1er Grand Cru Classe B, Saint-Emilion 2023 Bottle

Description

IN BRIEF
Château Canon 2023 opens with intensity: ripe plum, black cherry and damson with violet and rose petal, plus graphite, cedar and smoke. Aeration reveals crushed bay, dried herbs and a hint of truffle over a limestone mineral seam. Medium–full-bodied, it shows a silky arrival, lively acidity and finely grained tannins that shape without weight. Concentrated black fruit is threaded with blackcurrant leaf and liquorice; the mid-palate offers dark chocolate, toasted cedar and gentle mocha from oak. A chalky mineral streak and saline lift drive a long finish. Drink with decanting or cellar fifteen to twenty years. Critics: James Suckling 99–100 — “elegant… length”; Decanter 98 — “deep florals, chalky minerality”; The Wine Advocate 96–98 — “seamless… long, mineral finish.” Recommended.

ABOUT THIS WINE
Château Canon 1er Grand Cru Classé B, Saint-Émilion 2023 opens with refined intensity, a poised Pomerol-like Merlot-dominated profile tempered by precise Cabernet Franc lift. The bouquet presents ripe plum, black cherry and damson, interwoven with fragrant violet and fresh rose petal, while graphite, warm cedar and a subtle smoke note lend savoury depth. With gentle aeration, crushed bay, dried herbs and a hint of truffle emerge, adding complexity and an unmistakable limestone mineral seam.

On the palate the 2023 is medium to full bodied, offering a satin entry, lively natural acidity and finely grained tannins that provide structure and poise without heaviness. Primary fruit is concentrated and pure, glossy black fruit threaded with blackcurrant leaf and a discreet liquorice thread. The mid palate develops gracefully, showing dark chocolate, toasted cedar and a suggestion of mocha from careful oak élevage, while a chalky mineral streak and saline lift give momentum into a long, focused finish. Oak influence is judicious and well integrated, a blend of new and older barrels used to add spice and frame rather than dominate.

Texture is polished and tactile, the mouthfeel combining silk and tensile grip as the wine opens in the glass. Secondary notes of leather, sous bois and cured meat begin to appear with time, offering nuance while preserving the primary clarity and floral lift. The vintage style at Château Canon favoured plot-by-plot selection and small-parcel vinification in 2023, with cool fermentations and gentle cap management to retain aromatic purity; élevage was managed to balance freshness and ageability.

Drink now with decanting to reveal layers, or cellar for fifteen to twenty years to allow tertiary notes of truffle, cedar chest and forest floor to integrate fully. Serve at 16 to 18°C with roast lamb, duck, wild mushroom risotto or mature cheeses. Château Canon 2023 is refined, layered and elegant, a Saint-Émilion of both immediate appeal and genuine long-term reward.

JAMES SUCKLING 99-100 Points
11 Apr, 2024 – 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.

DECANTER 98 points
Tasted by: Georgina Hindle (at Bordeaux, 15 Apr 2024) Part of Best St-Emilion 2023 wines tasted en primeur
Drinking Window: 2030 - 2050
Another excellent wine from the team at Canon benefitting from its position on the limestone plateau. Deep florals, violets, black fruits, some purple fruits too with cocoa powder and cool fresh blueberries. Smooth and so refined, this has a comfort in the mouth that few others have - a certain weight that defies the vintage - almost fleshy but more thick juice rather than lean, with a sweet core as well as biting acidity that provides a great contrast. This is a serious wine, it has structure and movement, supple tannins, so fine with a touch of chalk, strawberry, cranberry and red cherry fruit with liquorice spice on the finish. Assured winemaking, ripe fruit, great acidity and body, ending clean and pure with wet stones and graphite touches. Just delicious, a wine that tastes great now and feels like it’ll always be that way. Expansive in the best way. Ageing 16-18 months in 50% new oak as well as foudre. 3.42pH.

THE WINE ADVOCATE (96-98) points
Reviewed by: William Kelley
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.