2013 Canon

Transparent garnet. Light nose and a solid attempt to fill in the gaps with some fruit. Pretty unripe tannins on the end. Better than many, but still very much a 2013. (JR)

Softly spoken, raspberry colour, a whisp of gunsmoke, this is a pretty wine, has charm and softly melted tannins. The acidity is fresh on the finish, a little overly so, and you are not getting the concentration through the mid palate to really go thedistance, but there is charm here, it is balanced and drinkable with walnut and salted cracker edging as it opens. 35hl/h, 3.5ph, 70% new oak, harvest October 1 to 10.

This was a year when you had to react to events during the growing season rather than make proactive choices, which is why it's a vintage that favoured estates such as Canon with the investment and manpower to be present from beginning to end. There is delicacy and charm here, with wild strawberries, brambled raspberries, touches of lemongrass and softly smoked cedar, and finely-finessed tannins, all extremely carefully handled but it fades on the finish. I suggest enjoying now and over the next few years, as even this briliant terroir shows the limitations of the vintage. The final yield though was normal for Canon at 35hl/h, 3.5ph, 70% new oak, harvest October 1 to 10.