Château Kirwan 2018

Château Kirwan is a charming Third Growth estate located in the Margaux region.  Visitors that are fortunate enough to roam the grounds are often dazzled by stunning rose gardens and exquisite views of vineyards in Margaux and Cantenac.  Château Kirwan is all about accessible, modern, and elegant hospitality -- with a tasting room that looks like a quaint living room.  The message they want you to absorb here is, “Come, stay, rest awhile and taste our wines.”  Lucky visitors have the opportunity to taste vintages that date as far back as 1968 -- a rare opportunity in Bordeaux normally given to industry insiders and the elite.  This notion of elegance without pretense permeates throughout the estate, right down to the wines.  Buyers who are frustrated with the extravagant Bordeaux prices often find more recent vintages of Château Kirwan to overdeliver, yet still remain accessible and easy to purchase.  

The history of Château Kirwan dates back to 1710 when it was purchased by Englishman and experienced negociant Sir John Collingwood.  He was responsible for aggressively marketing this wine to England and ensured the wine was served at the Royal Court in London.  Collingwood willed the estate to his daughter who married Mark Kirwan.  The estate was named Château Kirwan after his surname.  Mark Kirwan increased the vineyard holdings and built the Château on the property – which still resides there in all its glory today.  In the 19th Century on his whirlwind trip to Bordeaux, Thomas Jefferson visited the estate and declared it was, “one of the great Second Growths in Bordeaux,” and considered it second in quality behind Château Margaux, Château Latour, Château Haut Brion, and Château Lafite Rothschild.  The négociants disagreed with this statement, and during the 1855 Classification Château Kirwan was ranked as a Third Growth or “Troisème Cru.”

The 40-hectare vineyard is currently run by the negociant Schyler and Schroder, and they have made a series of improvements to the estate.  The vines here are 35 years old on average.  The viticultural team at Château Kirwan recently added newer plantings of Carmenere to the standard mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc that are planted in the vineyard’s gravely terroir.  The 2017 vintage was the first vintage to feature Carmenere in the blend.  Like a few other Châteaux, Château Kirwan practices Co-inoculation, a process where malolactic fermentation takes place alongside alcoholic fermentation. This yields soft, silky and supple wines.  In the vat room, concrete tulip shaped fermentation vessels have been added to allow for parcel-by-parcel vinification. Château Kirwan started a bit of a trend with these impressive looking tanks, and other châteaux are beginning to follow suit.

The wines are soft and best enjoyed young, with a stunning lacework of tasting notes that is a signature to the wines of the Margaux region.  One can expect aromas of rose pepper, vanilla, and succulently ripe black cherries and currants. They have received mounting critical praise over the past few vintages, with fairly consistent scores in the 90 points range. These delightful, friendly wines are a fabulous example of an accessible Bordeaux.  Savvy buyers should take note -- Château Kirwan offers high quality Bordeaux wines without the pretense. 

"More concentrated and exuberant than the 2017, reflective of a year where they lost 50% of the harvest to mildew - the Cantenac plateau was the epicentre of the issues in the vintage, and here Kirwan was taking its first steps with organic farming. It meant a high percentage of Petit Verdot, and you feel the weight through the mid palate, and the waves of black pepper, sage, rosemary, rose oil, incense, cassis, pomegranate and passion fruit, complex and really rather lovely. Needs more time in bottle. 50% new oak for ageing." - Jane Anson, (09/09/2024), Ratings: 94, Drink: 2025-2048

"The 2018 Kirwan has really come together nicely in élevage. Powerful and yet impeccably balanced, the 2018 has a ton to offer. Ripe red berry fruit, iron, dried herbs, mocha, licorice and espresso build with time in the glass. I would open the 2018 in advance if possible. This is very nicely done." - Neal Martin, Vinous, (03/31/2021), Ratings: 92

"The deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Kirwan comes barreling out of the glass with notes of cedar chest, cloves and stewed plums, followed by notions of cassis, dried Provence herbs and tobacco leaf with a waft of dusty soil. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers mouth-coating, juicy black fruits with a plush texture and plenty of freshness, finishing long and earthy." - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate, (03/31/2021), Ratings: 92