| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Margaux |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
This third growth Margaux property has 40 hectares of vines planted with 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot. A second wine Les Charmes de Kirwan is also produced.
The 2019 Kirwan opens in the glass with a reticent bouquet of muddled berry fruit, spices and pencil shavings, followed by a medium-bodied, youthfully firm palate with a delicate core of fruit and powdery structuring tannins. This lacks a little precision and plenitude in this generous vintage. Drink date 2025 - 2045
The 2019 Kirwan has an understated, cedar and graphite-tinged bouquet, a little Pauillac-like in style, nuanced and gaining intensity with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with taut tannins, focused, tensile and linear with plenty of sapidity towards its oyster shell-tinged finish. Very precise and very sophisticated, this is the best Kirwan in many years - maybe a benchmark for the estate. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. Drink 2026-2050.
Blackcurrants with bark, cedar and dried flowers coming through in the nose. Full-bodied with integrated tannins and a long, linear finish. Racy and refined. Sophisticated. Try after 2024.
Well-placed, sappy and succulent damson, blackberry and cassis fruits. This is graceful and well-balanced, with a lingering, gently spiced finish that stretches out with a satisfyingly juicy feel that has deepened over ageing. First vintage where you find a touch of Carmanère in Kirwan. Technical director Philippe Delfaut, this is an upscore this En Primeur.
Tasted blind. Pure, directed, focused scent. Minerally and lifted. Not especially concentrated but a racy 21st-century wine with real transparency. Stony character and impressively long. Distinctive. 13.5%
Drink 2025
– 2040
The 2019 Kirwan retains the engaging floral aromas that I noticed from barrel, well-defined and fragrant, rose petals and a touch of peony complementing the red currant and wild strawberry fruit. The fresh palate is medium-bodied, fleshy and generous, with supple tannins and a hint of white pepper toward the finish, which fans out nicely. This is one of the best Kirwans in recent years and yet I still feel this Margaux can reach higher. 2024 - 2045
The 2019 Kirwan offers a quintessential Margaux bouquet with vivid black and blue fruit laced with crushed violets, a sensual and generous nose that will please many. The palate is medium-bodied with fleshy rounded tannins, one of the texturally creamiest within the Margaux appelation. I feel it just shaves away some tension and grip on the finish. This will be a thoroughly pleasurable Kirwan.
Lovely depth of fruit to this, and a line of tannins that draw through the wine. It’s medium-to full-bodied with polished structure. Focused and transparent. Better than the 2018.
