Chateau Canon Premier Grand Cru Classe B, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2015

From the very beginning, the 2015 Canon has made an eloquent case for itself as one of the wines of the vintage. Multiple tastings from bottle only confirm what several early tastings hinted at: the 2015 Canon is simply extraordinary in every way. Sumptuous and exotic, with no hard edges and exceptional balance, the 2015 grabs hold of all the senses and never lets up. A rush of red fruit intermingled with floral notes, spice and smoke notes effortlessly runs up the wine's vertical structure as the 2015 thrills with every twist and turn. The 2015 Canon is a rare wine that is both hedonistic and intellectual - well, maybe it is a bit more hedonistic-leaning. It doesn't matter. Don't miss it. This 2015 is masterpiece from General Manager Nicolas Auderbert and his team at Canon.

Seductive. The nose draws you in deep: It’s like staring into a well of pristine dark cherries, dark plums, blackberries and mulberries. All the oak is perfectly subsumed. The palate’s flawless with immense depth and power and it’s so balanced as to appear to float. Immaculate fresh dark-berry and plum flavors. Silky and deep, ribbon-like finish. Perfect. Best from 2022.

One of the wines of the vintage is the 2015 Château Canon which is 72% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc that spent 18 months in 70% new French oak. It offers a perfect example of the old saying “iron fist in a velvet glove” and boasts gorgeous notes of black cherries, framboise, spring flowers and exotic spices. All these lead to a full-bodied, ultra-pure, seamless 2015 that marries incredible richness and depth with a sense of purity, elegance, and weightlessness that needs to be tasted to believed. This multi-dimensional, seamless 2015 needs forgotten for 4-5 years and will keep for three decades or more. Bravo!

This was the vintage when the world sat up and took notice of Canon, and at the ten year point you can see why. Umami, flesh, poise, precision, crushed raspberry, black cherry, nectarine, rose petals, violet, saffron, hovering between primary and tertiary, just beautiful, with decades ahead of it. A one point upscore from the last time I tasted in 2021 - just really growing into itself. Nicolas Audebert director, in his first full vintage, 42hl/yield, 70% new oak for ageing, harvest September 14 to October 4.

The 2015 Canon was an epochal wine for the rejuvenated Saint-Émilion estate. Now at ten years old, this has a fresh and vital nose with more mineralité than most of its peers thanks to the limestone soils. Raspberry, wilted flowers, dried orange peel and subtle pencil box aromas define the nose. The palate is outstanding, with finely chiseled tannins and dark berry fruit mixed with allspice and white pepper. This is very harmonious with ample grip on the finish (unlike some of its peers) and it lingers long on the aftertaste. The 2015 is simply a magnificent Canon with a very long future ahead. Tasted at the 2015 Ten-Year-On tasting at Bordeaux Index.

Composed of 72% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc and aged for 18 months in 70% new and 30% one-year-old barrels, the 2015 Canon is boldly fruited with blackberry preserves, black cherry compote, fruitcake, mocha and plum preserves with suggestions of Indian spices, licorice and black olives. Full-bodied and packed with ripe, rich dried berries and exotic spice layers, it has a firm, slightly chewy structure and just enough freshness (the pH is 3.78), finishing long and savory. Give it another 2-3 years of cellaring to soften its edges and allow its flavor spectrum to fully emerge, and drink it over the next 20 to 25+ years.