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92 points Robert Parker: "An opaque, deep ruby/garnet color had the look of extraordinary concentration and density. The nose offered up compelling aromas of herbs, black cherries, and loamy, earthy notes, as well as coffee. In the mouth, this Canon exhibited a typically rustic, super-concentrated, hard, tannic, massive constitution. It is still capable of improvement - as hard as that may be to believe. The color reveals no signs of age, and there is enough tannin to suggest that this wine could last for at least another 15-20 years." (04/92)
Wine Description
The Story
With 30% of Cabernet Franc, Château Canon’s planting is characteristic of Saint-Emilion. The limestone soil reveals the full character of Cabernet Franc, which is a perfect complement to Merlot. The two varieties have long been used together. Cabernet Franc brings freshness, delicacy and structure to Château Canon wines. It makes subtle wines with fine acidity. It gives them great aromatic persistence with varied and complex smoky, roasted and mineral notes
The Merlot grape variety reigns supreme in Saint-Emilion. Its name comes from the local patois and means petite merle (small blackbird) because of its dark colour similar to that of the bird. Restructuring Château Canon’s vineyard has made it possible to plant it 65% to Merlot, bringing it in line with the estate’s original planting scheme. Their wide, dark green leaves are highly indented. They provide shelter for large, long, open clusters of grapes. The small, round grapes are bluish black when ripe and their juicy flesh is particularly sweet. Although hardy, Merlot vines are sensitive to spring frost as they develop early. They thrive in this clay and limestone soil which stays cool even in summer. These engaging Merlots are smooth on the palate, mellow and supple; they have presence and offer roundness in the mouth. Their aromatic complexity is characterised by aromas of red and dark summer fruit. On aging they develop woody and spicy notes. These subtle and refined Merlots with delicate, silky tannins bring smoothness and charm to Château Canon.
Wine Information
No vintage in the post-World War era has a reputation as great as 1945. Its legendary status is well deserved based solely on the quality of the wines, but the fact that it is the “victory” vintage following World War II only adds to its luster. 1945 was a remarkably good vintage for virtually every wine region in the world, but it was especially great for Claret. Interestingly, the harvest in Bordeaux got underway on September 13th, the same date as the 1982 harvest began exactly 37 years later.
The top reds of Bordeaux started out with massive levels of tannin and took decades to develop. Due to the high concentration of fruit and tannin levels, many of the wines still show beautifully today.
Vintage 1945
The best vintage in the world – 1947 or 1945? Tastingbook has tasted all the best wines from these two great vintages.
If wine producers from different regions were asked to name the best vintages in their wine history, most would name 1947 or 1945 as one of the greats. If we then compared them, there would probably only be one vintage that most, if not all, producers had named on the list – 1947.
We wanted to test this theory and we tasted them against each other and the winner was 1947 – by a long shot.
The 1947 vintage was a magical vintage. It goes down in history as one of the only vintages that all the well-established quality wine regions in the world were blessed with superb weather conditions. Heatwaves have been experienced all over the world and, for example, all of Europe was blazing under the blazing sun and experiencing a heatwave during the summer. This resulted in very concentrated and very ripe grapes. Growers found it difficult to handle very ripe grapes with high sugar levels because there was a constant risk of bacterial contamination in less hygienic wineries that did not have artificial cooling systems. Since there was no technology to use, many relied on huge blocks of ice to cool the room temperature and even put ice in their fermentation tanks.
This vintage has proven to produce very long-lasting wines from around the world. The wines are marked by a sweet, ripe fruit character and warming alcohol. Due to unhygienic winemaking facilities, many wines exhibit volatile characters. Some might find this a flaw, but for many mature wine lovers, this feature is even a favorite character. However, when purchasing wines from this vintage one should be aware that there is a high level of bottle variation and the risk of having highly volatile wines is remarkably high.
1945 was an exceptional year throughout France, from Côte-Rôtie to Bordeaux. Due to the hot and dry conditions, the grapes were very concentrated and produced an extraordinary, but unfortunately low, yield. The 1945 harvest was an early harvest, beginning on the same date as 1982, September 13. The wines started life with massive levels of tannin and took several decades to develop. Due to the high levels of tannins, many wines still show well today.
