Château Kirwan 2009

The 2009 vintage in Margaux

Vintage benchmark: 98/100 (appellation benchmark, not a score for this wine)

Vintage character: A sun-drenched season from start to finish gave opulent, fleshy wines, immediately appealing yet built for the cellar.

Overall reading of the year’s season across Margaux. An estate can depart from it sharply, in frost or hail years, where two neighbours did not make the same vintage. What this particular wine actually gave is on its technical sheet and in the scores above.

Tasting

At the end of ageing, Château Kirwan 2009 has refined itself considerably over these last months. The nose still delivers intense notes of ripe fruit, but it is now complemented by fine spice notes. On the palate, the attack impresses with its smoothness and sweetness, a sign of great ripeness. The tannic structure is still present but now appears in a progressive way, and is increasingly coated. The tactile sensations on the palate build in crescendo, with freshness and tannic backbone giving further length to the fleshy weave of the attack. This wine is certainly young, but it dazzles us with its generosity. Which takes nothing away from its considerable ageing potential.

Blend of the 2009 vintage

Figures from the 2009 sheet

• 13 % vol.Alcohol
• 29 hl/haYield
• 27 yrsVine age
• 90,000 bottlesProduction

Winemaking

The 'levée de colle' racking, carried out 'to the fine point' by candlelight, is one of the traditional interventions essential to the wine's evolution.

Ageing

The grand vin of Château Kirwan benefits from an average of 40% new oak. Ageing in barrel will last 20 months. That is long... but short compared with the decades the wine needs to improve in bottle.

Terroir

With 40 ha of vines and 46 separate parcels, Kirwan continues to develop the rich potential of its terroir, adapting viticulture to the soil and the climate. Situated on the gravel rise of Cantenac, bordering the river born of a thousand-year erosion, this terroir reveals and expresses its geological capital. Recently confirmed by a soil study aimed at better understanding the composition of the soils, the role of the gravels is essential: by aiding drainage and warming, it encourages the roots to explore deep down. The clay captures water and preserves its freshness, playing a key moderating role during severe droughts or heatwaves.