The 1985 Canon is a great example of the vintage, as it offers up the great purity and refinement that characterized the first decade of the 1985s in bottle and the added depth and muscle that began to show in the top wines of the year after they had spent ten years in the cellar. The bouquet is deep, complex and vibrant, as it delivers scents of dark berries, black cherries, a touch of mocha, menthol, cigar smoke, the last vestiges of tobacco leaf and a lovely, deep base of soil. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very pure and fresh, with a fine core of fruit, moderate tannins, excellent focus and breed and great length and grip on the complex and classy finish. I would still wait a few years to start drinking the ’85 Canon with wild abandon- not because it is not delicious today- but rather because there are still additional layers of complexity to unfold with a bit more bottle age. A dynamite vintage of Canon and probably one of the greatest steals in the market today for a great wine from a great vintage that is not inordinately expensive.

Tasted single blind at the 1985 horizontal in London, the 1985 Canon was clearly better than the 1985 Magdelaine that was poured alongside. It has what you might describe as an "old school" nose with dark fruit, mulberry, smoke and a dab of the old boot polish. It is not as refined as more recent vintages but it expresses the character of the vintage. The palate is medium-bodied with a fine line of acidity and a masculine personality that would lead you more towards Saint Julien rather than Saint Emilion. It does not have enormous length, but there is panache here, a Canon that is only interested in giving the imbiber enjoyment in lieu of intellectual stimulus. It achieves that purpose. Drink over the next five to eight years. Tasted July 2015. - Neal Martin