| Canon 2002 • August 2003 | CANON
1st Great Classified Growth "B"
2002 Vintage
Surface area of the vineyard :
22 hectares, of which 17 hectares are in production (in 2002), about 3 hectares of which are in production for the first year
Yield :
21 hectolitres per hectare
Terroir :
Clay-limestone plateau
Exposure :
South / South - West
Grape varieties :
- 75 % Merlot
- 25 % Cabernet Franc
Density of plantation :
5,500 plants per hectare
Average age of the vines :
25 years
Vineyard management :
- Double guyot pruning
- Manual leaf thinning
- Crop thinning before colour change
- An environmentally-friendly spray programme
Growing season :
With coulure and millerandage at the beginning of June, followed by a dull summer with little sunshine and a cool, damp August, the 2002 vintage was not looking very promising.
At the beginning of September, the crop size was small and particularly uneven (about one week behind the 2001 in ripeness).
From September onwards, there was a miraculous turnaround in the situation. Ideal weather conditions set in, with summer temperatures, record sunshine, no rain for a month, cool nights and a prevailing north-east wind. This perfect Indian summer enabled the grapes to get the final ripening they needed.
At the end of September, the crop was looking more homogeneous, healthy and seemed to have made up all the lost ground in ripeness. At harvest, the grapes displayed normal levels of sugar and acids, with anthocyanin-rich skins and fruit aromas showing practically no trace of vegetal character.
Harvesting :
A new harvest reception system was introduced.
- Hand picking with a first sorting on the vines. The bunches were collected whole in small 20 kg crates.
- A 2nd selection and sorting of the bunches on a first vibrating sorting table at the entrance to the cellar enabled any unwanted vegetation, such as berries affected by millerandage or pieces of branch or leaf in the bunches to be discarded.
- The de-stemming is done mechanically.
- A final manual sorting of the berries was carried out on a second vibrating sorting table so as to ensure that only the best grapes went into the vat. With the berries being spread out, this 3rd sorting made it possible to remove any pink-coloured or damaged berries.
- The grapes fall into small stainless steel troughs, which are raised by fork lift tucks to be emptied by gravity into wooden vats, thus avoiding any pumping of the grapes.
Vinification :
- Alcoholic fermentation (8 days) and 10 to 15 days maceration in temperature-controlled wooden vats with two daily pump-overs of half or the whole of the volume of the vat and one punching down of the cap of skins.
Ageing :
In oak barrels, of which 50 % are brand new, racking through the small bunghole at the end of the barrel every three months, fining with fresh egg whites and no filtering.
Second wine :
Clos Canon
Owner :
S.C. Château Canon
Managing Director :
Mr John KOLASA
Cellar-master :
Mr Stéphane Bonnasse
Vineyard manager :
Mr Hervé Des Garets
Consultant oenologist :
Mr Gilles Pauquet and Mr Michel Rolland
Tours and contacts :
Only on appointment from Monday to Friday (except on bank holidays)
Tel : 33.(0)5.57.55.23.45 Fax : 33.(0)5.57.24.68.00
E-mail :contact@château-canon.com
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