Barrel sample. This dense, extracted wine has dark coffee and bitter chocolate flavors that are followed by wood and tannins. The fruit is still obscured, and may need many years for its dark character to emerge.

The 2012 is the first truly profound Canon under the administration of the Wertheimers, the family that owns the famous haute couture house of Chanel. Improvement has been noticeable for a number of years, but this wine is remarkable, particularly in view of a more challenging vintage. The color is a healthy dark ruby/purple, and the wine offers up great minerality along with floral, black-fruited characteristics. What's not a surprise are the nobility, elegance and finesse of this wine (70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc) married with serious richness and intensity. Give it another 5-6 years and drink it over the following 20-25 years.

Displays a rather firm coating of chalk dust and vanilla notes, with a core of subdued plum and blackberry fruit. Verges on an extracted feel, but comes out solid and sculpted in the end. Barrel tasting.