Chateau Kirwan 2005

Professional Ratings

• 93 Wine Spectator
  Aromas of cedar, spice box, incense, burning embers, black currants, and new wood jump from the glass of this full-bodied, structured effort. Behaving more like a Pauillac than a Margaux, it is a long, concentrated, powerful wine meant for long aging. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2025.
• 93 Wine Enthusiast
  Dense and dark, this is an extracted wine with polished fruit. What stops it going over the edge is the delicious sweet fruits, the dense structure and the elegance that gives it shape and aging potential.
• 92 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  I remember tasting a number of Kirwans from the 19th century that had held up surprisingly well for over 100 years. While the 2005 will probably not last that long, it may be one of the finest wines this estate has made in the last fifty years. This brilliant, full-bodied, powerful, broodingly backward Margaux exhibits a dense purple hue along with notes of charcoal, licorice, blackberries, and graphite. Exceptionally concentrated, possessing high tannin, zesty acidity, and a 45-second finish, it should be purchased only by patient connoisseurs. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2035.
• 90 Connoisseurs' Guide
  At this point a wine of somewhat mixed messages, Kirwan is a ripe and fairly outgoing effort that is long on creamy oak and concentrated cassis and blackberry fruit. At the same time, it is limited by its harsh and fairly abrupt tannins, and, while deep enough to offer good aging potential, it clearly requires at least eight to ten years of patience.