The 1953 Canon is drinking brilliantly today, displaying an impressively saturated, youthful hue, followed by a deep and complex nose of cherries and wild berries mingled with notions of cocoa nib, cedar, sweet soil tones and subtle spices. Medium to full-bodied, textural and layered, it's rich and concentrated, with a fleshy core of fruit, ripe tannins and lively acids, concluding with a long, resonant finish. Intensely flavored but classically balanced, it's a splendid wine from just before the 1956 frosts that precipitated such changes in Saint-émilion.

This really caresses the palate with its ripe fruit and gentle tannins. Polished to near perfection after four decades. Medium-bodied and silky, showing off cherry, berry and light mushroom aromas and flavors.--Canon vertical. -JS