Château Canon has been released today at £720 per 6 bottle case in bond, up 33.3% on the 2021 release. This price increase is not surprising given the releases we have seen throughout the 2022 en primeur campaign, but this is one of the few wines where I feel the increase is warranted and I feel compelled to offer.
Château Canon made, in my mind, one of the front-runners of the vintage in 2022, and it seems from the notes below that the critics concur. The new release is one of the best values in 2022 according to Liv-Ex’s Fair Value Analysis. I continue to be impressed by the calibre of the wines made under Nicolas Audebert’s direction at Château Canon.
Please see below for notes from William Kelley, Neal Martin, Antonio Galloni and Jeb Dunnuck.
2022 Château Canon, Saint-Emilion, 1er Grand Cru Classé (B)
£720 per 6 bottle case in bond
99-100 points, William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
From an estate that is delivering its greatest run of vintages since the superb Post War series that preceded the frosts of 1956, the 2022 Canon is a magical wine that will be worth every effort to track down. Wafting from the glass with aromas of dark berries, wild plums and cherries mingled with hints of bay leaf, spices and violets, it's full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, with huge levels of concentration, vibrant acids and beautifully refined tannins. Concluding with a long, saline finish, this pure, perfumed and ineffably complete Canon is built for the ages, even if its structural polish is such that it will be approachable at a surprisingly early age.
96-98 points, Neal Martin, Vinous
The 2022 Canon was picked from 30 August to 22 September and is matured in 50% new oak for a planned 18 months. It has a beautifully-defined bouquet with plumes of blackberry, raspberry and subtle violet flower scents. The palate is very fresh on the entry, announcing a relatively linear Canon. The limestone terroir seeps into every pore of this Saint-Émilion. This is one of the more intellectual and saline Canon wines in recent years. A triumph in such a hot growing season, elevated by its limestone soils. Drink 2032-2075
96-99 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
The 2022 Canon is elegant and sensual, with virtually no sensation of tannin. A wine with no beginning and end, Canon is totally seamless. All the Canon signatures are there, but woven together in an effortless, gracious expression of this site. It's the sort of wine that is about subtlety and nuance more than power. Dark red/purplish fruit, lavender, rose petal and spice caress the palate, but ultimately, Canon is above all else a wine of exquisite detail. Haute couture. Tasted three times. Drink 2032-2072
97-99+ points, Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com
Tasted on three separate occasions (and I thought it had the potential to be a perfect wine on one of those), the 2022 Château Canon is an incredible wine in the making, and it might be the finest in the series starting in 2015. A blend of 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc harvested between August 30 and September 22, it comes from yields of 45 hectoliters per hectare and hit 14.5% alcohol. The élevage will run 16-18 months in just 30% new French oak. As classy as they come, it has a beautiful perfume of red and blue fruits as well as notes of white flowers, truffly earth, woodsmoke, and forest floor. With incredible density, a multi-layered texture, ultra-fine tannins, and integrated acidity, this incredible Canon will evolve for 30-40 years. I finished my rough note on this with "Pure class."
Please let us know of your interest.
All the best,
Simon