In the cosmic world there is usually a normal schedule in life for wine tastings at The Fine Wine Source, but I received an invitation for a Friday afternoon tasting featuring two estates from France under the Chanel umbrella.  The tasting was being led by Juliette Allegre the Brand Ambassador for the Chanel Wine Group.  Juliette had an interesting route from the Languedoc to Bordeaux and now to New York City.  Gabrielle Bonheur “Coco” Chanel was the famed French designer of post-World War I, who created a new style in couture clothing, jewelry, handbags, and fragrance, not to mention her signature monogram logo.  She will always be endeared to wine lovers with her famous quote “I only drink Champagne on two occasions, when I am in love, and when I am not.”  In 1994 the Chanel organization bought Chateau Rauzan-Segla in Margaux, in 1996 they bought Chateau Canon in Saint-Emilion, and then in 2015 they purchased St. Supery Estate Vineyards & Winery in Napa Valley; and after that announcement I was in communications with them, as I have a Lifetime Tasting Pass, which they assured me would be honored by the new owners.

At the tasting we started with five wines from Chateau Canon of Saint-Emilion.  A Jacques Kanon with associations with Quebec was recorded as purchasing the vineyard in 1760, and then the vineyard and later the estate has changed hands, and even the origins of the name may not have been based on Kanon.  Chateau Canon is a Premier Grand Cru Classe chateau with a large core parcel abutting the town of Saint-Emilion, and the parcel is almost entirely walled in, hand-harvested and ploughed by horses. The estate has also been established as organic.  The main vineyard is planted with Merlot, and some of their other vineyards have been planted with Cabernet Franc.  The estate is thirty-two hectares of vineyards on a limestone plateau with clay veins.  Their second label is Croix Canon an eleven-hectare vineyard that border Chateau Canon.  We began with Chateau Canon Croix Canon Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2016.  This wine was formerly called “Clos Canon.” The wine is a blend of seventy-six percent Merlot and twenty-four percent Cabernet Franc.  The wine was aged for eighteen months in French Oak with twenty-five percent new barrels.  A deep reddish-purple wine that offers notes of red and black cherry and baking spices.  On the palate this medium-bodied wine offered tones of cherry fruit, vanilla, cinnamon, blended with supple tannins, well balanced and ending with a good medium count finish of dark fruit and terroir.  

We then had the good fortune to try a vertical of four wines from Chateau Canon Premier Grand Cru Saint-Emilion.  The first was Chateau Canon Premier Grand Cru Saint-Emilion 2017.  This wine was seventy-seven percent Merlot and twenty-three percent Cabernet Franc.  The wine was aged for eighteen months in French Oak with fifty-six percent new barrels. A deep reddish-purple wine that offered notes of black currants, blueberries, and black cherries, with additional notes of straw, florals, spices, eucalyptus, and sous-bois.  On the palate, a full range of dark fruit, harmoniously blended with firm tannins, vanilla, and rosemary, well balanced and ending with a nice long count of dark fruit and chalk (terroir).  We then had Chateau Canon Premier Grand Cru Saint-Emilion 2019.  This wine was a blend of seventy-six percent Merlot and twenty-four percent Cabernet Franc.  The wine was aged for eighteen months in French Oak, of which fifty percent was new barrels.  A deep reddish-purple wine that offers notes of red ripe fruits, florals, and crushed rocks.  A very refreshing medium-bodied wine on the palate that had tones of strawberries, raspberries, and red cherries, sweet spices, and vanilla, in a well-balanced blend with silky tannins and ending with a long finish of juicy fruit and terroir.  We then enjoyed the Chateau Canon Premier Grand Cru Saint-Emilion 2020.  This wine was a blend of sixty-eight percent Merlot and thirty-two percent Cabernet Franc.  The wine was aged for eighteen months in French Oak of which fifty-percent were new barrels.  This deep reddish-purple wine offered notes of red fruits, florals, peat, and cedar.  On the palate, this was a big wine, with creamy qualities of raspberries and cherries, very elegant, with richness accentuated with a delightful salinity and ending with a nice long count finish of fresh fruit and terroir, and a desire for another taste.  We finished with a Chateau Canon Premier Grand Cru Saint-Emilion 2021 that wasn’t even going to be arriving at the shop until a week later for pre-orders.  This wine is a blend of seventy-one percent Merlot and twenty-nine percent Cabernet Franc.  The wine was aged for eighteen months in French Oak with fifty percent new barrels.  A very dark ruby-red wine that offers notes of raspberry, strawberry, and cherry with florals, smokiness, herbs, and spices.  On the palate a heady medium-bodied wine with red fruits, with tinges of orange blossom, almond, a dash of honey (without any sweetness), coffee; all well balance with firm tannins and ending with a long finish of juicy fruit and terroir.  My picks would be 2020, 2019, 2021, and then the 2017.