Canon 2019

Blackberries, blueberries and dark chocolate with bark, mushrooms and chalk. Lavender, too. Full-bodied with firm tannins that are polished and velvety. White pepper, gesso and crushed stone. It’s full-bodied and layered with tightness and focus and a long finish. It’s solid and stalwart, as usual. Reminds me of the very special 1955. One for the cellar. Give this until 2026 to see what it really has.

Tasted blind. This feels heavy in the glass. A bit more brutal and less sweet than some of its peers. Lots of chunky tannin. Quite extracted. Burly. 14.5%Drink 2028– 2042

The 2019 Château 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.

74% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Franc. Barrel sample.Refined, perfumed nose. Vibrant, juicy fruit with fine texture and tannins. Palate-cleansing finish. Total harmony. Another strong effort from this estate. (JL)Drink 2027 – 2045

The 2019 Canon is a blend of 74% Merlot and 26% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple, it offers subtle suggestions of redcurrants, Morello cherries, and fresh blackberries to begin, giving way to nuances of candied violets, star anise, wild sage, and cast-iron pan with a touch of wood smoke. Full-bodied, the palate delivers dense layers of black, blue, and red berries intertwined with earth and mineral accents, framed by firm yet velvety tannins and amazing tension, finishing with fantastic persistence.

The 2019 Canon has a fine, detailed nose of blackberry, raspberry, scorched earth and just a touch of crushed stone. The palate is medium-bodied with fine delineation, poised and focused, yet serious. This is a Canon with breeding, but it is more of a long-term prospect compared to the 2018. A second sample at the château showed a bit more depth on the saline finish, and based on that example, I think this will become an outstanding Saint-Émilion. Drink 2028-2055.

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. Drinking Window 2028 - 2050