Chateau Canon 2019

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Canon prances out with showy notes of wild blueberries, fresh boysenberries, and black raspberries giving way to fragrant scents of sassafras, cumin seed, star anise, and red roses. The full-bodied palate delivers waves of bright black and blue fruits with wonderful freshness and plush, rounded tannins, finishing long and energetic."

JEB DUNNUCK: "The 2019 Château Canon is another brilliant wine from this talented team that delivers everything you could want from this incredible terroir located on the upper limestone plateau. Based on 74% Merlot and 26% Cabernet Franc, it has a pure, incredibly refined, yet still powerful profile that takes time to unwind. Offering up beautiful notes of black raspberries, wild strawberries, spring flowers, chalky minerality, and graphite, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a layered, multi-dimensional mouthfeel, ultra-fine tannins, and a finish that's something to behold. This isn't the massive style of the 2015 and reminds me slightly of the 2016. It's perfectly balanced and, again, the purity and finesse are off the charts. It needs to be forgotten for 4-5 years and enjoyed over the following 2-3 decades. Hats off to Nicolas Audebert for another sensational wine."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "One of the few wines I was not able to taste in barrel, what's worth having is worth waiting for. This stunner presents an aromatic display combining crushed rocks, stones, flowers and red fruits. If that wasn't enough, the wine really kicks in on the palate with its freshness, concentration, energy, purity and length, which is the perfect backdrop for all the layers of refined, elegant, silky textured, red fruits along with that often, elusive sense of minerality on the palate and in the finish. Drink from 2034-2055."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2019 Canon has turned out brilliantly in bottle, wafting from the glass with complex aromas of raspberries and red plums mingled with notions of raw cocoa, dark chocolate, pencil shavings and rose petals. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and multidimensional, it's one of the most refined, elegant right bank wines of the vintage, with a deep core of fruit, beautifully refined tannins, lively acids and a long, perfumed finish. This is a superb achievement for Nicolas Audebert and his team."

JAMES SUCKLING: "Blackberries, blueberries and dark chocolate with bark, mushrooms and chalk. Lavender, too. Full-bodied with firm tannins that are polished and velvety. White pepper, gesso and crushed stone. It’s full-bodied and layered with tightness and focus and a long finish. It’s solid and stalwart, as usual. Reminds me of the very special 1955. One for the cellar. Give this until 2026 to see what it really has."

DECANTER: "Canon has been on an amazing run since 2015, and the 2019 continues this performance. Carries 14.5% alcohol with ease. Complex aromas and flavours of spices, moccha, smoky notes, liquorice and dark cherry/blackberry fruit. Freshness from the abundant acidity and mineral notes give the wine a profound elegance despite the sumptuous texture. Fully deserves its 1er Grand Cru Classé B classification."

WINE SPECTATOR: " Violet, cassis, plum purée and blackberry reduction notes are layered together without being compacted, giving each space to breath and unfurl while letting the fine lacy thread of chalky minerality to flow in between. This shows the heat and slight grain of this distinctive vintage, but manages those aspects better than most. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2025 through 2038."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "74% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Franc. Very dark crimson. Seductively fresh dark and dark-red fruit with cedary freshness – smells fresh even before you put the wine in your mouth. More scented as it opens. Juicy, succulent, the tannins relatively light (NB no Cabernet Sauvignon in Canon) but sufficient. A little bit of heat at the back of the throat. More approachable than the Rauzan-Ségla 2019 just tasted. "