Château Canon
Sitting in the heart of the limestone plateau, Château Canon is prized for its classic, critically acclaimed St-Emilion. The estate’s story began 250 years ago when it was purchased by wealthy privateer, Jacque Kanon, who made his fortune commanding fleets between France and Quebec. It was known as Clos St Martin, and Jacque Kanon built walls around the estate and the fine château, but it wasn’t named Château Canon until 1853 and its acquisition by the Fontémoing family. Canon’s quality renaissance began when the Wertheimer Brothers, who also own Chanel and Rauzan-Ségla, bought the estate in 1996. They invested heavily in the vineyards and winery, poached John Kolasa from Latour and made him technical director, setting the estate on the path to success. Kolasa has been succeeded by the talented Nicolas Audebert and quality and demand continues to soar. Canon has a unique, walled Merlot vineyard which lies at the entrance to the village of St-Emilion. It is so small, it is ploughed only by horse and the grapes are hand-harvested and destined for only the Grand Vin. The rest of the estate is planted with Merlot and around 30% Cabernet Franc, and these grapes are used in the second wine, Croix Canon.