Ch. Canon
Grand Cru
Saint Emilion
2010

The producer

One of the poster boys for stylish and modern Saint-Emilion, and in the hands of the Wertheimer brothers (who own Chanel) since 1996, Canon is all that is sexy and seductive about this commune – exuding black fruits, crushed herbs and rocks with hints of warm spices; this is a totally alluring wine.

Canon has 1er Grand Cru Classe B status and the 34 hectares of vineyards are located in the heart of Saint-Emilion, occupying most of the limestone plateau west of the village, but also with vineyards in the clay and alluvial rich soils further down slope. Typically, the wine is a blend of 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Franc, which is aged for an average of 18 months in up to 70% new oak barrels. Canon is widely known to be one of best producers in the Libournais and usually the wines start being ready to drink at around 10-15 years old.

The wine

Fruit for Canon’s Grand Vin is derived from, on average, 30-year-old vines growing on Saint-Emilion’s limestone plateau, although with some old vines dating back to the 1930s. The blend varies with vintage conditions but usually includes up to 70% Merlot complemented with Cabernet Franc. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks and is followed by ageing for 18 months in up to 70% new oak barrels.

A wine of opulence, with ripe black berry fruit, spice and liquorice complexity, Canon’s palate has generous texture yet with a certain mineral freshness that leads into the long succulent length.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.