Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve: Wonderfully fresh, powerful but elegant tannins, lovely spice, brilliant length. A magnificently balanced wine that truly shines aromatically. 17/17.5

Michael Schuster: Dense, new-oak and black-fruit ripe nose; a beautifully balanced wine, rich yet restrained, a fleshy core, a fresh acidity, and a very fine, soft, restrained tannin; sweet, elegant, juicy; a texture that has a delicious thickness without excess, gentle generosity (quite fat for a plateau wine), but flattering rather than tiring to the palate; ripe, complex, gently spicy, and capped off with lovely, sweet, gentle length. A very fine Canon, a great success; another 2009 that must be the best for 50 years. 2018–30. 17/17.5