Chateau Canon 2017

JEB DUNNUCK: "Showing spectacularly, the 2017 Chateau Canon checks in as a final blend of 77% Merlot and 23% Cabernet Franc that’s from one of the most exceptional terroirs in the appellation. Hitting 14% alcohol (the pH is 3.66), it reveals a ruby/purple hue as well as gorgeously sweet raspberries and cassis-like fruit interwoven with notes of spring flowers, rose petal, white chocolate, and spice. While it doesn’t have the massive opulence of the 2015 and 2016, it’s more classically styled as well flawlessly balanced, with a terrific sense of minerality, ultra-fine tannins, and a brilliant finish. Give bottles 5-7 years in the cellar, and it will evolve gracefully for 30-40 years. Hats off to Nicolas Audebert as well as the team of Thomas Duclos for one of the wines of the vintage!"

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2017 Canon bursts from the glass with expressive notions of baked black cherries, kirsch, plum preserves and black raspberries plus hints of red roses, Ceylon tea, black olives and fertile loam. Medium-bodied, the palate is wonderfully elegant and refined, with a soft, finely grained texture and seamless freshness, finishing long and mineral laced. The blend is 77% Merlot and 23% Cabernet Franc and it was aged for 18 months in French oak, 50% new."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "Deep garnet in color, the 2017 Canon sashays out with gorgeous notes of rose oil, lilacs, and black raspberries followed by hints of wild blueberries, Indian spices, and fragrant soil. The medium to full-bodied palate offers intense black and red fruit layers laced with floral and mineral notes and framed by plush tannins, finishing long, lively, and perfumed. This is beautiful!"

JAMES SUCKLING: "Extremely perfumed with blackcurrants, flowers, gunmetal, gunpowder and blackberries. Full-bodied, tight and reserved. The tannins are so tightly knit and just run through the center. Needs at least three or four years to open. A blend of 77% merlot and 23% cabernet franc. Better after 2023."

WEINWISSER: "Rubinviolett, satte Mitte. Offenherziges, sehr charmantes aber komplex verwobenes Bouquet mit Anklängen an blaue Früchte und Beeren, schwarze Johannisbeeren, Sandelholz und florale Aspekte. Am eleganten Gaumen mit weicher, runder Textur, wirkt fast in sich ruhend. Sehr geschmeidiger Trinkfluss, wunderbar ausgewogen und im langen Finale mit betörender blaubeeriger Frucht und floral-ätherischen Noten. Ein stilvoller Charmeur auf hohem Niveau."

DECANTER: "Canon remains pretty austere at this stage with the Cabernet Franc dominating. It's not as immediately seductive as some years, but you can feel the bedding down of the tannins, restraining the elegance and floral minerality but not hiding it completely. Sit with it in the glass and you start to feel a wine that rises above the vintage. This is one of the very few where you feel that in 10 years time it will clearly be better than it is today, most do not have that grace and confidence. I love the juicy finish here. 50% new oak. Drinking Window 2025 - 2040"

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Tasted blind. Deep ruby colour. Layered nose with both the high tones of red fruit, flowers and vanilla bean together with darker brambles and incense. Very youthful fruit on the palate, which is round and full, finding notes of pencil shavings together with plush red fruit. The tannins are plentiful but ripe and soft, gently integrating into the fruit."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Juicy, sweet, fresh and stony, the lively, ripe, red berries taste as if they were crushed and drizzled over rocks and stones. Add in some licorice, touch of smoke, silky tannins and an assortment of plums, and well, you get the idea. Lay this down for about a decade before pulling a cork."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "Dark and dense, this is a massive wine. Big tannins are paralleled by concentrated blackberry fruits to give a wine that is both juicy and impressively rich. Structure and power are likely to be tamed as the wine ages. Drink from 2024."

WINE SPECTATOR: "A subtle savory note leads the way, backed by ample cassis, plum and black cherry fruit aromas and flavors. Tobacco and dark earth details fill in on the finish, which shows solid cut and drive. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2022 through 2038."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung, reife schwarze Kirschenfrucht, ein Hauch von Zwetschken und Nougat, kandierte Orangenzesten. Saftig, elegant, frische Kirschen, feine, integrierte Tannine, mittlere Länge, frisch strukturiert, mineralischer Nachhall, zugänglicher Stil, bleibt etwas kurz."