Wine Advisor
Kirwan 2010
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted blind at the Southwold Bordeaux 2010 tasting. The Kirwan 2010 has a very attractive, marine-influenced bouquet with touches of seaweed and iodine infusing the clean and pure fresh black fruit. The oak is neatly folded in here. The palate is medium-bodied with impressive cohesion on the entry. This is well balanced with more body and structure than its peers, with plenty of dusky black fruit to give it persistency. Very fine. Tasted January 2014.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Readers looking for a masculine, powerful, concentrated, broodingly backward style of Margaux need look no further than the 2010 Kirwan. A dense opaque purple color is accompanied by notes of graphite, licorice, blackberry and cassis. Intense and concentrated with good acidity as well as a boatload of tannin, it should be forgotten for 7-10 years and drunk over the following three decades.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot, including 13% vin de presse and being raised in 45% new oak (13.9% alcohol) the Kirwan ’10 has a very ripe bouquet with blackcurrant, blueberry, plum and cedar. The palate is medium-bodied with ripe tannins, quite robust on the entry, very good weight but mellowing nicely towards the creamy textured finish. This is a very fine, modern style Margaux, one that is very well crafted. Tasted April 2011.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the UGC tasting in London. The Kirwan has a generous bouquet with blackberry, boysenberry, a touch of undergrowth and cedar. It is nicely defined although it needs just a little more tension. The palate is medium-bodied with a firm grip on the entry. There is plenty of black tarry fruit here with a dash of spice towards the finish, but again, it needs to develop a little more tension and vibrancy in the glass. Tasted November 2012.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
As always, this estate has produced a blockbuster style of Margaux in 2010, with the more masculine side of the appellation providing density, power, big body, loads of fruit, extract and richness. This wine is powerful and concentrated, but by no means excessively extracted. Dense purple, muscular, deep and impressive, it is a wine that allows for no compromise among wine lovers. Forget it for 6-10 years and drink it over the following 20-40 years. Keep in mind that in the 19th century, Kirwan was making some of the longest-lived wines of Margaux, so it is nothing new to see this property produce big, blockbuster reds that require considerable patience from their prospective purchasers.
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Deep garnet colored, the 2010 Kirwan gives up notions of fried herbs, crème de cassis and blackberry pie with hints of mossy tree bark, lavender and oolong tea. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is a tad tart with chewy tannins, while lacking just slightly in the middle and on the finish.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright ruby-red. Brooding aromas of boysenberry, licorice and shoe polish. Dense, sweet and creamy but serious too, with excellent definition and underlying minerality to the blueberry, cassis and spice flavors. For all its richness, this rather powerful wine is currently dominated by its structure, but the tannins are supported by mid-palate concentration of material.
Reviewed by: James Suckling
Dried berry and plum character on the nose and palate. Full body, with chewy tannins and a juicy finish. Lots of beautiful and ripe fruit here. Better after 2017.
About the Producer
Kirin Castle's vineyards are located on the Cantenac Heights and cover an area of 37 hectares. Due to the diverse terroir, the winery divides it into 35 parks, in order to adapt to local conditions and fully exploit the potential of each piece of land. Among them, the soil of the Cabinet Ouest is stratified clay, and the Merlot produced here is round and plump; the Mois de juin is distributed with gravel soil, which is conducive to Cabernet Sauvignon (Cabernet Sauvignon) ) ripening and giving it velvety tannins; while another, Canon, also on gravel soils, is located at the highest altitude and is mainly planted with Petit Verdot. The complicated vineyard work of wire racking, tying vines, thinning branches and leaves and grape picking is done manually. After the ripe grapes are picked, they are screened layer by layer before being transported to the winemaking workshop, where they undergo the same meticulous fermentation process. The fermented wine will be aged in French oak barrels with a proportion of about 50% new barrels for about 20 months. During this period, traditional egg white clarification and pouring are required before bottling. It is thanks to the understanding and respect of the vineyard, coupled with the meticulous brewing process, that the excellent quality of Kirin wine was born. In addition, the winery's winemaking consultant is Eric Boissenot, an influential winemaker who will guide the winery's winemaking together with the winery's general manager and technical director. At present, the wines launched by Kirin Castle mainly include the original wine—Chateau Kirwan, Margaux, France and the second wine, Charmes de Kirwan, Margaux, France. Kirin Castle red wine is made from grapes from the best plots of the Kirin Castle vineyard, the fruit picking and two screening are done by hand. Rich and concentrated on the palate, it perfectly expresses the extraordinary terroir of Kirin Castle. The second brand of Château Kirin is made from grapes from young plots in the vineyard. Its fruity taste is outstanding, the mouthfeel is supple, suitable for drinking in the morning.
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