Chateau Canon - Croix Canon 2020

JAMES SUCKLING: "Blackberry, rose bush, and orange peel aromas follow through to a medium body, with silky tannins and a fresh finish. Attractive texture and linear focus to this. Very typical and high class. Try after 2026."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "The 2020 Croix Canon has turned out magnificently, unfurling in the glass with aromas of cherries, dark berries, raw cocoa and crushed vitamin pills. Medium to full-bodied, pure and fleshy, it's layered, seamless and suave, with a succulent core of fruit, sweet tannins and an impressively persistent finish. While it's approachable today, it's built to age with grace."

DECANTER: "This is an excellent second (from a separate plot) wine, bright, poised and delicious. Fruit ripeness is just at the point where it is teetering on the brink between deep, spicy and textured while still remaining fresh and juicy. Great stuff. Mildew made an impact but not drought, so ended up with 40hl/ha yields. Harvest September 4 to 23, 30% new oak. 3.53pH."

FALSTAFF: "Tiefdunkles Rubingranat, opaker Kern, violette Reflexe, zarte Randaufhellung. Reife Kirschen, ein Hauch von Nougat, kandierte Orangenzesten. Mittlerer Körper, feine Süße, elegante Textur, dunkle Waldbeeren, feine Tannine, mineralisch, bereits gut entwickelt."

LISA PERROTTI-BROWN: "The deep garnet-purple colored 2020 Croix Canon is a blend of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc. It skips out of the glass with bright, expressive notions of juicy black and red plums, boysenberry preserves, and Morello cherries, giving way to wafts of lavender, tapenade, and dusty soil. The full-bodied palate is coated with expressive black berry layers and a soft texture, finishing with a vibrant lift."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Dried flowers, black raspberries, kirsch, licorice, citrus rind and spice create the gorgeous nose. On the palate, the medium-bodied wine is even better with its showy display of fresh, silky, red plums, cherries and supple-textured, elegant finish, with just a hint of salty rocks that comes in at the very end of the finish. Drink from 2023-2037."

WEINWISSER: "65 % Merlot, 35 % Cabernet Franc. Purpurrot mit satter Mitte und lila Rand. Herrlicher Waldbeercocktail, dahinter zarter Veilchenduft und Schattenmorellensaft. Am mittleren Gaumen mit weicher Textur, reifes unterlegtes Tannin, stützende Rasse und fein sandiges Extrakt. Im aromatischen Finale rote Beeren, Rosenholz und Estragon. Gelungener Zweitwein aus bekanntem Hause!"

JEB DUNNUCK: "The second wine of Château Canon, the 2020 Château Canon Croix Canon is a beauty and is perfect for drinking while you wait on the Grand Vin. Deep purple-hued, with a great nose of ripe black cherries, lead pencil shavings, chalky earth, and tobacco, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, a round, supple mouthfeel, and outstanding length. While it's drinking nicely today, it's not a simple quaffer, and I suspect it will keep for 15 years in cold cellars."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "Dark chocolate and powerful black fruits give this wine density and concentration. They also bring a hard edge that needs to soften. With its smoky character and polished wood texture, the wine is developing well. Drink from 2026."