While Canon produced a good wine in 1978 and 1979, and a great, perhaps legendary, wine in 1982, and excelled in 1985, 1986, 1988, and 1989, the 1981 falls way short of my expectations. The chateau's obsession with new oak barrels has rendered a wine that from its birth was too light and fragile to absorb the full impact of the tannin and vanillin from new barrels. The wine is overly tannic, lean, and out of balance. Time may help, but don't count on it. Anticipated maturity: Now-2000. Last tasted, 2/88.

Not altogether a good bottle here. Medium-red in color with a garnet rim, showing some fruit but a rather grassy, herbal character. Other bottles have been close to outstanding. Drinkable now.--Canon vertical. -JS

While Canon produced a good wine in 1978 and 1979, and a great, perhaps legendary, wine in 1982, and excelled in 1985, 1986, 1988, and 1989, the 1981 falls way short of my expectations. The chateau's obsession with new oak barrels has rendered a wine that from its birth was too light and fragile to absorb the full impact of the tannin and vanillin from new barrels. The wine is overly tannic, lean, and out of balance. Time may help, but don't count on it. Anticipated maturity: Now-2000. Last tasted, 2/88.