Château Canon 2012

The 2012 vintage in Saint-Émilion

Vintage benchmark: 90/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: Merlots brought in just before the rain made for a vintage markedly more successful than on the Left Bank.

Overall reading of the year’s season across Saint-Émilion. An estate can depart from it sharply, in frost or hail years, where two neighbours did not make the same vintage. What this particular wine actually gave is on its technical sheet and in the scores above.

Tasting

The velvety, silky style of Château Canon is explained by the interplay between soils and grape varieties. The asteriated limestone gives the wines freshness, finesse and elegance. They show a remarkable ageing potential. Château Canon is a wine of patience which, over time, reveals its credentials.

Blend of the 2012 vintage

Figures from the 2012 sheet

• 13 % vol.Alcohol
• 35 hl/haYield
• 35 yrsVine age
• 60,000 bottlesProduction

Winemaking

Malolactic fermentation: from early November to early February, one quarter in barrels and three quarters in vats. Ageing in barrels for 18 to 20 months. French oak, medium to medium-long toasting; 60% new barrels for Château Canon. Racking via the bunghole every three months, fining with egg whites, no filtration.

Ageing

In French oak barrels, with medium or medium-long toasting.

Racking via the bunghole

Terroir

Château Canon occupies a south-west-facing limestone terrace that makes up most of its surface area. A quarter of the estate lies on the slope of this hillside, which descends gently towards the Dordogne. This imposing mass of sedimentary rock is criss-crossed by numerous galleries, evidence of the quarrying of this building material since the 16th century. The site, which peaks at 87 metres, benefits from perfect ventilation and a walled enclosure that protects the vines from spring frosts. This setting allowed the château to be among the few estates to produce wine during the severe cold of 1766 and 1956.