Château Canon St Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé B 2003

Olive tapenade, truffles, a sweet strawberry attack that opens to maple syrup, fig, saffron, smoked fennel and gentle white pepper spice. At 16 years on this shows fully ripe fruit that has softened and opened but is still giving pleasure, with plenty of juice running through the tannins. The heat and drought of 2003 makes it signpost vintage, in that it can tell you a lot about the terroir of an estate, and here you see the full benefits of limestone maintaining uplift. It’s definitely ready to drink, but feels welcoming rather than tired. 28hl/h yield. 50% new oak, 3.59ph, harvest September 9 to 16.