The endlessly rising prices and never-ending grapple for elite Bordeaux throws a major wrench into our plans, namely, offering them to you on a consistent basis. Rare is the chance that we can hoist one onto our shoulders and proudly state that its quality and provenance is both impeccable and unrivaled. But that doesn’t deter us from trying: Stemmed from numerous calls, emails, and handshakes, today’s 2010 Grand Cru Classé has been over six months in the making—and it was worth every minute.
Château Kirwan has stormed onto the scene in recent years, crafting some of the most powerful, brawny, and long-aged Bordeaux on the market. In the legendary 2010 vintage, those descriptors rocketed to unprecedented levels. Now nearing its tenth birthday, this mega-blockbuster has only just entertained the idea of entering its drinking window, one that will remain open for decades with proper storage. To me, Kirwan encapsulates the beauty of premium Bordeaux—brooding, richly layered, firmly stamped in gravelly terroir—which is why it was named in the historic 1855 Bordeaux classification. Along with its illustrious Third Growth companions (e.g. Palmer, Calon-Ségur, Cantenac-Brown, Giscours), Kirwan proves that it belongs in the upper crust of Bordeaux, and accordingly, the greatest wines of the world. Coming directly from Kirwan’s cellar, this small parcel of 2010 is a perfectly sourced gem that is bound to stun connoisseurs, be it with a multi-hour decant now or a grand unveiling 10, 20, even 30 years down the road.
The commune of Margaux is a powerhouse, representing over a third of all 61 classified growths. It seems you can’t drive more than a few hundred yards in any direction without stumbling upon an impressive Palladian structure producing world-class wine—quite simply, it’s the epicenter of elite Bordeaux. Third Growth Château Kirwan is one of these, with roots that dig deep into the mid-1700s. Sir John Collingwood, one of the first négociants of Bordeaux, purchased the estate and later gifted it to his daughter who had married an Irishman named Mark Kirwan. The château quickly rose to prominence and even caught the eye of the United States Ambassador to France: Thomas Jefferson. Kirwan’s fame only continued to rising; their wines becoming evermore noteworthy due to their immense ability to age, of which few other châteaux in Margaux could match. Thus, once the 1855 Classification came into effect, their Third Growth status was wholly deserved, if not underrated.
In classic Bordeaux fashion, just two wines are made from Kirwan’s 37 hectares: today’s Grand Vin and a second label. In 2010, a seventeen-day harvest ensured that each variety (Cabernets, Melot, Petit Verdot) was picked at optimum ripeness. After hand harvesting and manually sorting in the vineyard, another sorting occurred at their winery. The grapes then underwent long, separate fermentations in large concrete vessels and each batch was tasted by “Bordeaux’s Secret Winemaking Weapon,” the late, great Jacques Boissenot. The subsequent wine then aged in French barriques, 45% new, for 18 months. After bottling in May of 2012, today’s batch was laid to rest in their cellar, where it remained untouched for nearly seven years.
After waiting several weeks for the wine to relax, we pulled the cork on a Friday afternoon and immediately ‘geeked out’ when dipping our noses in the bottle. This is high-class elegance. In the glass, the deep, dark garnet-colored wine conceals its age nicely, but this is Growth Bordeaux we’re talking about after all—they’re built for many, many years of cellaring. Though a 60 minute decant is recommended, as well as savoring the wine over the course of 2-3 days, brooding and polished aromas were unlocked the moment it hit our glass. You can expect flawless layers of crème de cassis, black raspberry, blackcurrant, damp tobacco, licorice, cedar box, Christmas spices, bay leaf, wet gravel, and cacao nibs. The confluence of dense fruit and compact minerality may fool you into thinking the mouthfeel will be gigantic, but that’s where the precision of Kirwan and elite Margaux come into play: It is incredibly balanced and structured with fine-grained tannins and persisting acidity that suggest another two decades of cellaring (if you want!). Serve in your largest Bordeaux stems around 65 degrees and savor as slowly as humanly possible in order to best experience its long and colorful evolution. Enjoy.
