Canon 2020

100 points - Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, April 2022

The brilliant 2020 Canon looks set to surpass both the 2019 and 2016 as this estate's finest wine since the post-war period, though like many of the best 2020s, it will require more patience than its 2019 counterpart. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of cherries and raspberries mingled with notions of exotic spices and iris, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with vibrant acids and beautifully polished, chalky tannins. Pure and precise, it concludes with a long, mouthwatering finish. This beautifully constructed wine communicates the essence of this superb limestone terroir, and it will be worth a special effort to track down and cellar.

In the last few years, this sleeping giant has well and truly reawakened, and the 2020 vintage represents the finest Canon produced since the early 1960s. Extensive replanting between 1996 and 2003, overseen by Audebert's predecessor, John Kolasa, saw some 50% of the estate's 22 hectares replaced. The fact that these vines are now arriving at full maturity surely goes some way to accounting for Canon's contemporary renaissance. Now, the team is working on restructuring the rest, combining massal selections and clones. Viticulture is thoughtful, with cover crops across the estate, and the terroir itself is relatively homogeneous: solid limestone covered by some 0.25 to 0.7 meters of clay, with a more or less uniform exposition on Saint-Émilion's plateau. There's also one small parcel in the town itself and another by Berliquet. Today, the vineyard is planted with about 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Franc, and there are no plans to radically alter that. Winemaking privileges finesse over power, though a certain richness and texture can be taken for granted with a site like this, and maturation is in 50% new oak (mostly from Taransaud, Demptos, Sylvain and Quintessence). Today, the focus is on increasing precision and refinement, rather than revolution. And well it might be, for why change a winning team?

“To be honest, we didn’t manage anything. That terroir at Canon is insane,” said Technical Director Nicolas Audebert. “It is incredible how it is always the terroir that brings back that freshness. We harvested a little earlier this year. And during the heat, we tried to protect the berries, with techniques I was using in South America to protect the bunches. But in the end, it is the typicity of that limestone that comes through. It is the backbone of the wine. This terroir also comes in earlier—the grapes just motor through. If we had waited 10 more days, it would be completely different. The wine has no excess—this is very important for us. We are not being extreme one way or the other. We look for ripeness and freshness. With the limestone, the vine never stops. The roots take the freshness and can handle these extremes. It is worth remembering that Canon has a southwest exposure, giving that little bit of extra ripeness. Also, I need to mention our work effort. We worked right through August. You know, usually everyone in France takes their holidays in August. Now, our team takes their holidays in July. We cannot wait around in August. Picking date completely makes what you are.”

- William Keeley