Country: France Region: Bordeaux  Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot Vintage: 2019 Colour: Red Style: Dry Producer: Chateau Kirwan Description: Chosen as a 3rd Classified Growth of Margaux during the great classification of Médoc wines in 1855, Château Kirwan has belonged to the Schÿler family since 1925. The dynamic Philippe Delfaut has endowed the estate with new infrastructures and elevated it to the height of its appellation. Château Kirwan today belongs to the elite circle of Margaux Grands Crus. Tasting Note: Château Kirwan 2019 displays a pleasant garnet colour. Enchanting aromas of red and black berries come out in the nose, heightened by spicy undertones. The bouquet stands out for its fresh and pure character. In the mouth, the attack is fresh, with pleasant acidity delivering a tinge of menthol. The wine gradually grows in intensity as the palate reveals the fruity aromas, the tannins and the distinctive personality fashioned through maturation. The palate is equally dynamic and soft, carried by beautiful and well matured tannins. This Château Kirwan is very elegant, a remarkable illustration of the Margaux appellation, showing a juicy and aromatic finale. A true delicacy. 95-97 points Wine Enthusiast  With its new cellars, the estate is performing at top speed and this vintage keeps up the fine track record. Firm tannins and beautifully perfumed fruit are blending together to give a wine that has style as well as structured fruitiness, with all the elegance of great Margaux. Think long-term aging for this wine. (RV)  (6/2020) 95 points James Suckling  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.  (2/2022) 93 points Decanter  Careful extraction of the sappy, and enjoyably structured, blackcurrant and blackberry fruits. This is a quality Kirwan that, as with last year, is a fairly serious take on the vintage within the appellation. An earthy, smoked cedar note comes out as the structure relaxes, and there is a lot to enjoy in this wine, which is certain to power through the decades. Blend completed with 6% Petit Verdot and for the first time 1% Carménère. (JA)  (6/2020) 91-93 points Jeb Dunnuck  Sporting a vivid purple colour as well as pretty bouquet of both red and blue fruits, graphite, and flowery incense, the 2019 Château Kirwan is medium to full-bodied, has a beautiful sense of elegance, silky tannins, and a great finish. It's not a blockbuster, but it has terrific Margaux elegance and complexity. It will need 2-4 years of bottle age and keep for two decades or more.  (6/2020) 91-93 points Vinous  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. (NM)  (6/2020)