We started the day with a tour and tasting at Château Brane-Cantenac, Appellation Margaux, 2ième Grand Cru Classé. Owner Henri Lurton was our host. Frome there, we drove over to Château Kirwan, Appellation Margaux, 3ième Grand Cru Classé for a tour, tasting and a pique-nique style lunch with matching Kirwan wines at the château. Owner Natalie Schyler-Thierry was our host. The last stop of the day was at Château Poujeaux, Appellation Moulis-en-Médoc, Cru Bourgeois. Winemaker Labenne, from the family that used to own the estate, was our host. We ended the day at Hotel/Restaurant Le Vignoble-France et Angleterre in Pauillac.
Château Kirwan is a 3ième Grand Cru Classé producer in the Appellation Margaux that exists since the late 17th century. We toured Château Kirwan and had a tasting in one of the rooms of the renovated winery. We had a gorgeous view of the Château Kirwan vineyard from ther. We then moved to another room of the renovated winery where we sat down and enjoyed a pique-nique style lunch with matching Kirwan wines.
Owner Natalie Schyler was our host for the tour, tasting and lunch.
Château Kirwan
The property is located in the commune of Cantenac and consists of a beautiful 18th century château and 35 hectares of vineyards. The wine is typically a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot. The grapes are hand-harvested and then fermented in temperature-controlled, concrete tanks. The wine is then matured in oak barriques (30-50% new) for 18 months. It is bottled after a light fining and filtration. Its second wine is called Les Charmes de Kirwan. Château Kirwan produces on average 16,000 cases per year.
History
The history of this estate, built all in one piece, begins with the famous English merchant Sir John Collingwood, one of the first négociants in history.
For nearly a century he reigned over the noble "de Lasalle" land, acquired in 1751 and adjoining the Ganet property. On this estate with its 40 acres (16 hectares) of vines, he watched the dazzling rise of Bordeaux wines, highly esteemed by His Majesty in London. This craze was particularly beneficial for the noble growths of Cantenac, Margaux, which became the most renowned Médoc wines. Fit to age and to grow finer over the years, they sold for a considerable price.
Settling in the region, Mark Kirwan - an Irishman from a family of merchants - became part of the estate's history by marrying one of the daughters of Sir John Collingwood. In 1760 he inherited the estate, already renowned in Europe.
Taking the reins, he united the "de Lasalle" and Ganet lands, building a one-storey Charterhouse and lending his name to the vineyard so that merchants would be better able to identify and market the wines.
Thomas Jefferson, then Ambassador of the United States in France, visited the Bordeaux vineyards in May 1787. He was not only the future president of the United States, but the greatest emissary of Bordeaux wines. In his travel diary and his book "Jefferson on Wine", he elevated Kirwan wine - then spelled "Quirouen" - to second classified growth, making it much more recognizable on the far shores of the Atlantic.
The heirs of the Kirwan family sold the estate in 1827 , in the midst of a severe economic crisis after the upheavals of the Revolution and the First Empire.
The wine's notoriety was confirmed by brokers in the Bordeaux financial market who were ordered by Napoleon III to select the finest samples of Médoc for the 1855 World's Fair. This official ranking placed Kirwan at the head of Médoc Third Great Growths, once again highlighting the exceptional and authentic character of its terroir.
After a period of instability, the owner of Château Kirwan and mayor of Bordeaux Camille Godard left the estate to the city, which used it for a time as a hotel and reception venue. It then became the property of the Schÿler family, whose family trading house had already been distributing the wine for several years. The Schÿler family traces it roots back to the Hanseatic League through d'Armand Schÿler fourth generation of the merchant family that settled in Bordeaux in 1739. His son Mark maintained the estate's commercial activities in Northern Europe and opened Central European markets thanks to a first-rate "art-deco" advertising campaign.
During the second half of the 20th century his grandson Jean Henri expanded into the North American and Japanese markets. He passed away November 2016 at the age of 85.
Today the châteaux is managed by the next generation Yann, Natalie and Sophie Schyler.
Recently Chateau Kirwan completed a renovation of the wine making facilities. Importantly, the stainless steel vats were replaced with concrete tanks.
Barry Bros & Rudd: Château Kirwan
Château Kirwan is a 3ème Cru Classé Margaux property that has hit form in the last decade after years of producing wine not meriting its Cru Classé status. Kirwan takes its name from its Irish proprietor who was, rather unfortunately, guillotined in 1792.
Since 1925 Kirwan has been owned by the négociant firm, Schröder and Schÿler. The property is located in the commune of Cantenac and consists of a beautiful 18th century château and 35 hectares of vineyards.
The wine is typically a blend of 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot. The grapes are hand-harvested and then fermented in temperature-controlled, stainless-steel tanks. The wine is then matured in oak barriques (30-50% new) for 18 months. It is bottled after a light fining and filtration.
Michel Rolland has been consulting at Kirwan since the early 90s and the wines are now aromatically richer and have more grip and body, as well as displaying much more depth of fruit.
Tasting
Before lunch, we stopped in one of the tasting rooms of the renovated wine cellar for a tasting. We enjoyed the 2004 Château Kirwan and the great view very much.
Lunch
We then moved to another room of the renovated winery where we sat down and enjoyed a pique-nique style lunch with matching Kirwan wines.
The Wines we Tasted
2004 Château Kirwan
wine-searcher average price in US$: 62
Aromas of cedar, spice box, incense, burning embers, black currants, and new wood jump from the glass of this full-bodied, structured effort. Behaving more like a Pauillac than a Margaux, it is a long, concentrated, powerful wine meant for long aging. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2025. Score: 90 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (171), June 2007
2016 Schröder & Schÿler Signatures en Bordeaux Blanc
This is a negotiont wine by Schröder & Schÿler.
wine-searcher average price in US$: 20
1996 Château Kirwan
wine-searcher average price in US$: 104
Readers should note that this property has significantly improved the quality of its wines, and now deserves a serious look in nearly every vintage. The 1996 Kirwan is a highly-extracted, rich, medium-bodied wine with a deep ruby/purple color, and ripe cassis fruit intermixed with a touch of new oak, prunes, and spice. The wine has come together nicely since I first tasted it from cask. It appears to be an excellent, nearly outstanding effort. There is moderate tannin in the finish, so give this beefy, rich, muscular wine 6-7 years of cellaring. Anticipated maturity: 2006-2025. (4/1999) Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
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