Canon Castle - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2015

Wine Advocate

100 / 100

byNeal Martinthe3/2/2018

The 2015 Canon was a benchmark wine that seemed to revitalize this historic estate. I was crossing my fingers that it would not disappoint in bottle and I am glad to say that it delivers the goods. It has a very intense bouquet (just as it showed out of barrel) with laser-like precision offering wild strawberry, raspberry preserve, wet limestone and hints of truffle. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannin, clean and fresh with pure black and red fruit whose every atom appears infused with minerals. The mouth is tingling long after the wine has exited and your brain is thinking...when is the next sip coming? It is frankly heads and shoulders above almost every Saint Émilion this vintage, to reaffirm, a benchmark for this historic estate that will give pleasure to many over the coming years. Astonishing. Anticipated maturity: 2021 - 2050. 

Vinous

100 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe2/27/2018

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.

Wine Advocate

96 / 100

byLisa Perrotti-Brownthe2/22/2018

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.

Wine Spectator

97 / 100

byJames Molesworththe2/15/2018

A plush, inviting style, with warmed fig and plum sauce notes taking the lead, picking up swaths of cocoa, tobacco and roasted alder along the way. Features plenty of pumping bass, but if you pay attention, there's a laser of chalky minerality driving the finish. When the baby flesh drops away, this will sail in the cellar for some time. Best from 2022 through 2045. 7,500 cases made.  –JM

Jamessuckling.com

100 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe2/12/2018

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.

Decanter.com

98 / 100

byJane Ansonthe1/26/2018

Slap bang on the plateau, Canon is a textbook example of the polish offered by clay and limestone over hard limestone bedrock. This approaches the perfect interpretation of the vintage for me - fleshy and yet poised, full of promise without giving it all away right now. There's nuance, complexity power and elegance here, with notes of cassis, slate, mineral and pencil lead, and fine tannins. A triumphant wine.

Jeb DUNNUCK

98 / 100

byJeb Dunnuckthe11/30/2017

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! 98+

Jamessuckling.com

100 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe6/23/2016

The wine is still such a stunner, showing superb depth and length. The texture is seamless and dense yet it remains agile and fresh. The purity of fruit is incredible here with intense character of crushed grapes and flowers. Full-bodied, velvety with refined tannins. Great length and beauty. Flamboyant yet refined and precise. Incredible. It’s so balanced and enticing that it makes you want to drink it now. Perfect. 100 points.

Vinifera

5 / 5

the5/31/2016

Superbe nez, complexe, sur la figue fraîche, les baies des bois. Grande bouche, on a tout: la maturité du raisin, la fraîcheur du calcaire, la profondeur de la saveur. Grande finale.

The Wine Cellar Insider

98-100 / 100

byJeff Levethe4/30/2016

The first vintage under the direction of Nicolas Audebert is a knock out! The color is dark and the nose complex. Its floral, stone, boysenberry and blackberry liqueur profile commands your attention. On the palate, this wine is dense, thick, concentrated and focused on layers of fat, sweet, velvet-wrapped fruits. There is an astonishing level of density coupled with length, minerality and purity of fruit in this wine. It's made with such a high level of artisanship and style, it's hard not to want to drink it right now! The best way to sum up this wine: it's an intellectual, sex bomb! Angelina Jolie meets Madame Curie. Made from a blend of 73% Merlot and 27% Cabernet Franc.

Decanter.com

96 / 100

byJames Lawther MWthe4/28/2016

Magnificent wine – the best ever under the Chanel regime. Beautifully fragrant with dark fruit, spice and floral notes. Plentiful but fine tannins provide a velvety texture and there’s great persistence on the finish. Elegant but with a powerful tannic frame and all the freshness of the limestone terroir.2025-2045

Bettane & Desseauve

18,5-19 / 20

the4/28/2016

Grand moelleux, fraîcheur racée, allonge brillante, brillant volume. Un canon qui entrera dans la légende du cru et, en tous cas, le plus expressif au stade des primeurs depuis bien longtemps.

Vinous

96-98 / 100

byAntonio Gallonithe4/27/2016

The 2015 Canon is one of the undisputed stars of the vintage. An utterly mesmerizing wine, Canon has it all; alluring aromatics; towering structure, fabulous depth, and exceptional balance. The aromas and flavors are remarkably nuanced for such a big wine. Waves of graphite, exotic spices, smoke, herb, licorice, violets and crème de cassis appear at every angle as this utterly profound Saint-Émilion shows off its pedigree. So far I have tasted the 2015 four times. It has never been anything less than sensational. Quite simply, Canon is one of the few truly must-have wines of 2015. It is every bit that memorable.

Jancis Robinson

17,5 / 20

byJancis Robinsonthe4/26/2016

Bordeaux 2015 - St-Émilion and satellites | Articles | JancisRobinson.com 72% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc. About 2/3 of the wine will go into the grand vin. 30% second-year barrels. 70% new.  Sample 1, from a new Taransaud barrique: Very dark crimson. Very complete and juicy on the nose. Very rich and glorious! Luscious and spicy. Deep and rich. Quite savoury and structured. Very fine and tight. Dry finish. Not as much fun to taste in isolation. Doubtless a useful ingredient. Slightly drying end. Sample 2, from a new St Martin barrique: Very dark crimson. Very sweet and floral on the nose. Ripe and round. Lots to enjoy here! Real lift and very sophisticated. So long! Sample 3: And finally an official sample at the château: strong hint of iodine on the nose. Very luscious and supple at first and then with massive velvety tannins and almost dried-fruit sweetness and concentration. Bravo! Drink 2023-2040 17.5+

Wine Enthusiast

97 / 100

the4/15/2016

96–98. Barrel Sample. Made from beautiful Merlot that's spiced by a quarter of Cabernet Franc, this is a finely balanced wine. It has wonderful juicy fruit that is dark and structured. The wine has power along with style, showing good integration already—rich and tense with tannins. This will develop into a very fine wine.

René Gabriel

19 / 20

the4/10/2016

Tiefes Purpur, satt in der Mitte. Vielschichtiges Bouquet, zeigt viel schwarzbeerige Frucht und ist mit ganz feinen Kräuternoten durchsetzt. Im Gaumen dicht, feinfleischige Textur, liefert eine fordernde Adstringenz welche aber mit reifen Tanninen bestückt ist, im Finale Cassis, Lakritze und Tabakspuren, sehr nachhaltiges Finale. Ein grosser Canon, so gross wie sein eigener 2009er, aber dann doch viel klassischer. Sehr langes Leben. 19/20 2024 – 2045

Jamessuckling.com

100 / 100

byJames Sucklingthe4/5/2016

This is the greatest red ever produced here, even better than the great wines of the 1950s and 1960s. Full body yet tight and reserved. Superbly refined tannins. Yet rich and flamboyant. Fruity yet salty and minerally. Electric finish. Stone and chalk undertones. A wonder of a young wine.

Wine Spectator

94-97 / 100

byJames Molesworththe4/3/2016

This delivers a pretty awesome display of blueberry, plum and raspberry fruit, both in its purity and depth, while the finish is carried by a very refined minerality. Large-scaled for sure, but seriously pure.—J.M.

Wine Advocate

98-100 / 100

byNeal Martin

The 2015 Canon is going to be a benchmark for this historic estate. A blend of 72% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc, it was cropped at 42 hl/ha between 14-25 September and 30 September until 2 October respectively. The alcohol level is an average 14.5% with a pH 3.78, matured for 18 months in 70% new barrels (except for one barrel of Cabernet Franc that they will bottle separately - just to see). Lucid in color, it has an intense bouquet that exudes extraordinary purity with scents of raspberry, wild strawberry, limestone and violets. It makes a huge impression. The palate is medium-bodied and multilayered with vivacious red and black fruit infused with minerals. The acidity lends the tension here from start to finish, but what this Canon possesses unlike the dozens of other vintages that I have tasted, is an overarching structure that will see it age in similar fashion to past classics such as the 1929, 1947 and 1964. It lingers very long in the mouth, the oak just surfacing a little on the aftertaste, although that will be subsumed with time. This estate has been in the ascendant in recent vintages under winemaker John Kolasa and now Nicolas Audebert, together with a benevolent growing season, has elevated Canon to a level that few could have predicted. Drink 2025-2060

Jean-Marc QUARIN

18 / 20

byJean-Marc Quarin

Ma meilleure note donnée à ce cru en primeur. Après la magie du 2012 et celle et du 2014, 2015 ajoute à ce cru un gras fin inédit et beaucoup de noblesse dans le déroulé de la stimulation. Le millésime rappelle les vins de Canon d'avant 1990 et j'en suis particulièrement heureux tant ce terroir diffère des autres Saint-Émilion. Couleur sombre, intense, belle, pourpre. Nez fin et floral avec cette inimitable odeur des vins de la Côte de Nuits en Bourgogne. Superbe entrée en bouche, moelleuse puis le vin se met tout simplement à fondre avec une grâce folle. Juteux, soyeux, aérien et en même temps profond et dense il évolue complexe et noble sur un grain très raffiné. C'est superbe ! Bravo à toute l'équipe et à Stéphane Bonasse. Assemblage 72 % merlot, 28 % cabernet franc. Degré d'alcool : 14.5°. pH : 3.78. Sélection 80 % de premier vin. Rendement 42 hl à l'hectare.