The 2016 Canon Bordeaux Blend from Saint-Émilion, France, is a highly acclaimed red wine that has garnered exceptional reviews from various wine critics. This wine features a blend of 74% Merlot and 26% Cabernet Franc, aged for 18 months in 70% new French barriques. With an alcohol content of 14.0%, this medium to full-bodied wine is known for its complexity, balance, and aging potential.
Jeff Leve of TheWineCellarInsider.com awarded the wine a score of 98, praising its "complex perfume" with notes of "flowers, smoke, thyme, crushed rocks, citrus, mint, and dark red fruits." Leve describes the wine as "full-bodied, deep, and loaded with perfectly ripe, lush, intense, mouth-filling fruits." He highlights its "length, purity, freshness, complexity, and sensuous, silky characteristics in the finish."
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate also gave the 2016 Canon a score of 98, with Lisa Perrotti-Brown noting its "stunning perfume of violets, red roses, and kirsch," along with a core of "black cherry preserves, chocolate box, licorice, warm plums, and Chinese five spice." Perrotti-Brown commends the wine's "fine-grained tannins" and "fantastic tension," concluding that it "kicks it up a notch in terms of polish, precision, depth, and persistence."
Wine Enthusiast echoed these sentiments, also awarding the wine a score of 98. The review emphasizes its "great weight, concentration, as well as style and aging potential," describing it as "one of the stars of the vintage in Saint-Émilion."
James Suckling, who scored the wine 97 points, noted its "complex aromas of blackberries, iodine, oyster shell, and wet earth," and described it as "full-bodied, yet reserved and tight with very silky tannins."
Vinous' Neal Martin gave the wine 97 points, highlighting its "pleasing strictness and poise on the nose" and noting that it "expresses its terroir rather than tons of fruit." Martin finds the wine "medium-bodied with supple tannin, a fine bead of acidity, and a smooth texture."
The Wine Independent provided the highest score of 99, describing the wine as "deep garnet colored" with "energetic scents of Morello cherries, black raspberries, and fresh blueberries." The review praises its "beautifully ripe, fine-grained tannins and seamless freshness."
Overall, the 2016 Canon Bordeaux Blend is celebrated for its exquisite balance, complexity, and potential for aging, making it a standout wine from the Saint-Émilion region.