Description

Canon Chaigneau is a brilliant wine from the first sip. It is so good it inspired me to host a dinner just to show it off. What I enjoy most about Canon Chaigneau is the subtle and nuanced flavours that arrive, evolve and excite my palate. Violets, leather, plums and cassis with game, dried earth, and a hint of white pepper. The palate is plush, soft Merlot tannin caresses my cheeks while the flavours linger pleasantly for a long time after.

Canon Chaigneau is a wine to enjoy from now. I will be putting some bottles of Canon Chaigneau away to enjoy at 7, 10, and 15 years of age.

Chateau Canon Chaigneau Lalande de Pomerol 2020, and all wines are eligible for at least 5% off any six bottles. And 10% off any 12 bottles. Some wines will be at a more significant discount and not subject to further discounts.

The Romans first cultivated the site that is Canon Chaigneau 2000 years ago. It is on the Neac plateau, which is a continuation of the celebrated Pomerol plateau. The combination of iron, limestone, and clay makes for ideal conditions for Bordeaux on the Right Bank.

Today, you have a modern operation using Lutte raisonee to tend their 20.72 hectares of vines.  90% Merlot, 5 % Cabernet and 5% Pressac (aka Malbec).

The other jewel in the crown is winemaker Thierry Garnaud, who also made Cheval Blanc from 1988-2018 and has helped raise the star of Canon Chaigneau since 1995.

Chateau Canon Chaigneau Lalande de Pomerol 2020 Wine Review

Vinous

Antonio Galloni
92 points
“The 2020 Canon-Chaigneau is fascinating to taste next to the 8a, as it really shows the role oak plays in adding support to a wine. Ample and expressive from the start, Canon-Chaigneau is gorgeous. Black cherry, plum, chocolate and leather flesh out in a gorgeous Lalande-de-Pomerol that has so much to recommend it. Terrific.”

Bordeaux

Situated near the Atlantic coast of France. The Gironde, Dordogne and Garonne rivers provide its shape. Cool conditions and frequent rainfall, including during harvest time, make Bordeaux quite a marginal region with vintages frequently ruined by rain or saved from the rain at the last minute by timely sunshine.

Lalande-de-Pomerol 

Lalande-de-Pomerol is directly to the North of Pomerol. The best parts are a continuation of the terroirs of Pomerol. At 1154 hectares, the size i s bigger than Pomerol but not by much. As with Pomerol, Merlot is the dominant grape variety. Generally speaking, the wines are more approachable and younger drinking.

Merlot

It gets a tough time most of the places it is grown. But in Pomerol and Saint-Emilion, Merlot not only dominates but makes some of the best wines in the world. Perfume, silky and plush. Cabernet  Franc and Sauvignon season the wines with structure and acid, but in some places, like Petrus, they are almost not needed.

Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Franc is actually one of the parents of Cabernet Sauvignon… along with Sauvignon Blanc (oh! The name makes sense now!). It is most famous for being the third most important grape in quality Bordeaux. But also excels in the Loire Valley (where it lived before it went to Bordeaux), especially Chinon and Saumur. The wines are bright red in colour, highly aromatic with raspberries, rose petals, violets along with tobacco, cassis and some herbal elements. The best examples can live as long as any great wine.

French Wine

The land that so many New World (not European) wine producers look to emulate. To generalise about French wine, I would say it is savoury, lighter-bodied wines. They are the definition of elegant, complex. There are many styles, though. And there is a French wine for every palate. They lead the world in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Burgundy. Sparkling Wine in Champagne. Cabernet and Merlot in Bordeaux. Syrah(Shiraz) and Grenache in the Rhone Valley. Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris in Alsace. Sauvignon Blanc, and Chenin Blanc in the Loire Valley. Gamay in Beaujolais.

Wine

Wine is the result you get from fermented grape juice. There is proof of wine production dating back 8000 years ago. Fashions, innovations and many other factors have influenced the way wine has evolved over the years.

The wine grape is pretty special. It contains everything you need to make great wine except for the yeast, which lives on the outside of the skins.

Human inputs can influence the final product. This includes the viticulture (growing) choices. And the winemaker can shape the wine to a point too.

The best wines of the world often refer to terroir. This is a French term that refers to all the climatic, geological and topographical influences on a specific piece of land. And it is true that neighbouring vineyards, grown identically, can taste noticeably different.

Red Wine

Fun fact; most of the colour for wines comes from the skins. There are only a handful of grapes that have red juice. Alicante is the most well-known of these grapes.

By macerating the juice on the skins, the wine gains tannins, and flavours. Certain compounds change the chemistry of the wine too.

Red wines tend to have higher alcohol. More tannin and more oak flavours compared to other styles of wine. But the thousands of grapes and terroirs they grow in influence this.

The Wine Depository

I, Phil, have been running The Wine Depository since 2011. The Wine Depository exists to make sure you are drinking the good wines. You can browse and pick what is interesting to you. Or you can make contact with me. I’ll make sure you get what you want, to your palate, to your budget and to your door.