Château Canon

Chateau Canon has belonged to the Wertheimer family's Chanel group since 1996. John Kolasa directed the estate from that purchase, alongside Chanel's Margaux property Rauzan-Segla, which he had directed since 1994. In 2014, French winemaker Nicolas Audebert, then chief winemaker of Cheval des Andes (a joint venture between Terrazas de los Andes and Chateau Cheval Blanc owned by LVMH) in Mendoza, Argentina, was announced as the incoming managing director of both estates. Audebert, who described the move as returning to his roots in France, relocated to Bordeaux that September to work alongside Kolasa before taking over as director when Kolasa retired. After the Wertheimers' 1996 purchase, much of the vineyard, which had fallen into poor condition from disease and neglect, was replanted; that replanting programme has continued in stages since. The estate's underground limestone quarries and winemaking facilities, which needed shoring up against collapse, were renovated between 2012 and 2015. On the estate's own current team, Nicolas Audebert is named as general manager, Stephane Bonnasse as technical director, and Javier as vineyard manager; the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux additionally lists Andreane Depons as export director and Jean-Basile Roland as sales and logistics director.

• Owned by Alain and Gerard Wertheimer (Chanel) since 1996; John Kolasa directed Canon from 1996 (and Rauzan-Segla from 1994)
• Nicolas Audebert announced in 2014, moving from Cheval des Andes (LVMH, Mendoza, Argentina) to Bordeaux that September; worked alongside Kolasa before taking full charge
• Vineyard replanted in stages since 1996 due to disease and neglect; quarries and winemaking facilities renovated 2012-2015
• Current team per the estate's own site and the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux: Nicolas Audebert (general manager), Stephane Bonnasse (technical director), Javier (vineyard manager), Andreane Depons (export director), Jean-Basile Roland (sales and logistics director)

Chateau Canon sits at the top of the Saint-Emilion limestone plateau, surrounded by low stone walls, its tower facing the village's steeple. The plateau rises on the right bank of the Dordogne and forms part of the Saint-Emilion UNESCO World Heritage Site. Beneath the vines lies asteriated limestone: porous rock that absorbs rainwater and releases it slowly, giving grapes a slow, even ripening, threaded with clay cracks that hold water and lend the wines freshness. The 34-hectare vineyard is planted to 62% Merlot and 38% Cabernet Franc; the estate describes Merlot as gaining refined freshness from the porous limestone and Cabernet Franc as gaining structure and potential from the same soils. Vine density ranges from 5,500 to 6,500 vines per hectare, and average vine age is now close to 30 years, with some vines dating to the late 1930s. The best parcels lie close to the chateau, near the cemetery and facing the village, with other vines toward Libourne and on slopes near neighbouring estates. The vineyard is small and hilly, walled in low stone, and is worked partly with a horse-drawn plough to protect the clay soils.

• Sits atop the Saint-Emilion limestone plateau; asteriated limestone with clay cracks retaining water
• 34 hectares planted to 62% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Franc; vine density 5,500 to 6,500 vines per hectare
• Average vine age close to 30 years; some vines date to the late 1930s
• Some plots tilled by horse-drawn plough to protect the clay soils

Fermentation takes place in double-walled, temperature-controlled stainless steel vats at 28 to 32 degrees Celsius; the estate uses 24 vats ranging from 56 to 98 hectoliters, allowing plot-by-plot vinification. Malolactic fermentation happens mostly in stainless steel, with a small portion going through malolactic in French oak barrels. The wine is aged 18 months, with 50% new French oak barrels. During vinification, pumping over is done by hand rather than by machine, so the marc cap is sprayed carefully for even extraction; the final blend draws on every plot of the classified vineyard. The second wine, Croix Canon, comes from 11 hectares of vines on the western slope of the plateau, farmed by the same teams and to the same standards as Chateau Canon, and has its own dedicated winery and vat house in a 12th-century building beside the Camino de Santiago that was renovated in 2011.

• Fermentation in 24 temperature-controlled steel vats (56 to 98 hectoliters), 28 to 32 degrees Celsius, for plot-by-plot vinification
• Aged 18 months in French oak, 50% new barrels; pumping over done by hand
• Second wine Croix Canon: 11 hectares on the plateau's western slope, farmed by the same teams and standards
• Croix Canon vinified and aged in a renovated 12th-century building beside the Camino de Santiago

Chateau Canon is a stylish wine with a real sensation of minerality, ripe dark berries, licorice and spicy scents, and an opulent personality, typically needing at least 10 to 15 years before it opens fully. The 2024 vintage is a blend of 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc, per the estate's own primeurs page; an independent tasting note (The Wine Cellar Insider) describes that vintage as soft, polished, fresh, floral and silky, with depth and purity from raspberries, red plums, strawberries and cherries, and confirms the same 78/22 blend. The estate's own account of the 2025 vintage describes aromas opening on red fruit (strawberry, blackberry, cherry) with violet and lilac notes giving way to black cherry, freshness carried through by the saline signature of the limestone, and discreet, silky, elegant tannins. Among recent vintages, 2015 is regarded as the best wine the estate has produced and a contender for wine of the vintage on the Right Bank, with 2018, 2019 and 2020 nearly at the same level. The wine reaches peak maturity between about 12 and 40 years after the vintage; younger vintages benefit from 2 to 3 hours or more of decanting, while older bottles need very little.

• House style: minerality, ripe dark berries, licorice, and spice, with an opulent personality; needs 10 to 15 or more years to open
• 2024 vintage: 78% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc; soft, polished, floral, silky, with raspberry, red plum, strawberry and cherry fruit
• 2025 vintage: red fruit (strawberry, blackberry, cherry), violet and lilac giving way to black cherry, saline limestone freshness, silky tannins
• 2015 considered the estate's finest wine and a Right Bank wine-of-the-vintage contender; 2018, 2019, 2020 nearly as strong
• Peak maturity roughly 12 to 40 years after the vintage; decant younger vintages 2 to 3 hours or more

Chateau Canon is best served at around 15.5 degrees Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit). It pairs well with classic meat dishes, including veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game and roast chicken prepared roasted, braised or grilled, and also matches well with Asian dishes, rich fish courses such as tuna, mushrooms, and pasta.

• Serve around 15.5C / 60F
• Classic pairings: veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken (roasted, braised, or grilled)
• Also pairs with Asian dishes, rich fish such as tuna, mushrooms, and pasta

Primary source (producer's own site, chateaucanon.com): the estate's own domain returned a persistent Akamai access-denial to direct fetch, so pages were retrieved via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine's cached copies of chateaucanon.com, dated 2024-03-04 (homepage) and 2025-05-18 / 2026-05-19 (interior pages): https://www.chateaucanon.com/, https://www.chateaucanon.com/en/wines, https://www.chateaucanon.com/en/terroir, https://www.chateaucanon.com/en/expertise, https://www.chateaucanon.com/en/way-of-life, https://www.chateaucanon.com/en/press-pro, https://www.chateaucanon.com/en/primeurs-2025, https://www.chateaucanon.com/en/primeurs-2024 (a fetched copy of the site's contact page fell below this pipeline's minimum source length and was dropped; see notes.md). Secondary sources: Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (ugcb.net, the Bordeaux Grand Cru classification association's own estate page), The Wine Cellar Insider (thewinecellarinsider.com), and The Drinks Business (thedrinksbusiness.com). Where the producer's own site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs; see conflicts.json. Last verified 2026-09-13.