Wine guide
Château Kirwan
When your fine wine Château is mentioned by known Francophile and future third president of the United States Thomas Jefferson, you pretty much know that your success is assured. Such is the auspicious history of the Château Kirwan, mentioned in “Thomas Jefferson on Wine” in 1787. And what is it is good enough for Mr. President...
From the hands of an Irishman to the property of France
Classed as a third growth wine in the 1855 Bordeaux fine wine classification, Kirwan’s unusual name is thanks to its founder. Mark Kirwan was a prosperous Irish businessman hailing from Galway, who regrettably fell foul to the French Revolution and was beheaded at the end of the 18th century. The estate was then inherited by then-Mayor of Bordeaux. However, running a vineyard is not as simple as it seems and the Mayor handed over the reins of the estate to his city upon his death. What might have seemed like a good idea was in fact expensive and difficult to maintain, thus in 1902 the city signed a management agreement with noted fine wine negociants the Schÿler family. The Schÿlers bought the Château and its vineyards outright in 1926.
The saviour of Margaux
Kirwan had famously made extraordinary wines in the nineteenth century but the new management found it hard to find their feet as producers, rather than negociants. Despite heavy investments in the 1970s, the latter half of the 20th century was filled with disappointments. Thankfully, Michel Rolland stepped in and saved what was left of Château Kirwan’s reputation. Under his steerage, he revamped the estate, from field to glass. Rolland has long since left consulting for Kirwan, yet owner Sophie Schÿler remains a firm believer in his talent. She has since brought on Philippe Delfaut to manage the estate.
Driving prices up
Château Kirwan has 40 hectares of vineyards, planted to 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot. The grapes are harvested by hand prior to fermentation in temperature-controlled, stainless-steel tanks. The wine is then matured in oak barrels for 18 months before bottling.
Much of Château Kirwan’s export network is based in Asia and the United States, thus demand far outstrips supply in Europe. Overall average points are 91 aggregate scores, and prices average at €55 in Q3 2019. Expect to pay almost twice that for spectacular years (2005), or even three times for the really special ones (1992 – the year that Rolland arrived to save the day).
Much of Château Kirwan’s export network is based in Asia and the United States, thus demand far outstrips supply in Europe. Overall average points are 91 aggregate scores, and prices average at €55 in Q3 2019. Expect to pay almost twice that for spectacular years (2005), or even three times for the really special ones (1992 – the year that Rolland arrived to save the day).
Notable facts and vintages
- Charmes de Kirwan, the estate’s second wine was launched in 1993 and while considered more approachable in its youth, exceptional vintages (such as 2005 or 2009 which were concentrated by dryness and hail respectively) offer ageing potential of a decade or more.
- Château Kirwan’s 2016 vintage is considered the latter of another “great duo” (paired with celebrated 2015). Sadly Jean-Henri Schÿler, then owner and the man responsible for replanting many of the vines which produced this special vintage passed away in his 85th year on October 31, 2016.
- The pronunciation for Kirwan does not sound dissimilar to the word for “unicorn” in Chinese. Perhaps that is where the similarity ends, though investors may take interest in a 2018 liv-ex article suggesting that “recent vintages look comparatively favourable”.