Discovering Margaux wine, Bordeaux
We visit beautiful Château Kirwan in the Margaux wine region - a 3rd growth Grand Cru Classé Bordeaux estate
Château Kirwan, Margaux - Source: Winekeller
The Médoc in France’s world-famous Bordeaux wine region is home to some of the greatest Bordeaux wine appellations. It’s also home to the prestigious Margaux wine region, which boasts a clutch of first to fifth growth 1855 Grands Crus Classés and Crus Bourgeois (see later) and is also a hotbed of rising star Bordeaux châteaux.
We spent time discovering beautiful Château Kirwan, a third growth, family-owned Bordeaux estate, which offers an incredible wine tourism experience…
An introduction to the Margaux wine region
Margaux in southern Médoc, on the Bordeaux left bank, is a large and diverse wine region. The Margaux AOC was officially established in 1954 but the region has been well-known for its wines since the 18th century. Today there are some 1500 hectares of vineyards, with over 60 wine estates ranging in size from less than 1 hectare to just over 120, with an average of 24 hectares. These Margaux châteaux are clustered around the small wine villages in the Margaux region, around the villages of Margaux itself and Cantenac.
Of these 60 wine estates, 21 are on the list of 1855 classified growths, the most famous being Château Margaux - the only premier cru, first growth Grand Cru Classé in Margaux. There are more second and third growths in Margaux than in any other Bordeaux region - 5 second growths, 10 third growths, 3 fourth growths and 2 fifth growths.
See here for the full list of 1855 Grand Cru classifications in Margaux.
Margaux, Médoc, Bordeaux - source: Vins de Bordeaux
Margaux Cru Bourgeois
We mentioned earlier about there being some excellent ‘Crus Bourgeois’ wines in Margaux. These are essentially wines - or châteaux - which are ranked directly below the famous Bordeaux 1855 Grands Crus Classés wines and are mostly in the Médoc and Haut Médoc regions. The rules and politics around this classification are confusing, but since the 2018 vintage there are 3 grades of Cru Bourgeois, with status according to the château and not the wine: Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel, Cru Bourgeois Supérieur and simple Cru Bourgeois.
Margaux terroir
Margaux is situated in southern Médoc between the ocean and the Gironde estuary, which creates a temperate oceanic climate - mild in winter and more protected from excessive heat in the summer.
The soil of Margaux is the thinnest and most gravelly in the Médoc and the vines grow on gravel hillsides, shaped by erosion, called ‘Graves’ - a mixture of gravel and pebbles mixed with clay sands, on top of a clay or limestone base. This gravel terroir forces the vines to draw water and nutrients from as deep as 7 metres and this, in good years, promotes the growth of top-quality grapes.
Margaux vineyards and châteaux - source: Winekeller
Margaux Wine
The nature of the soils here, combined with the benefit of climate-induced slower grape ripening, means that Margaux wine is typically more elegant, soft, fine and delicate than neighbouring central Médoc wines, i.e. Pauillac, St-Estèphe and St-Julien.
What kind of wine is Margaux?
Four different grape varieties dominate the Margaux vineyards: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot. In addition to the difference in soils, Margaux wines are often made with a greater proportion of Merlot than neighbouring Bordeaux wines, which leads to a softer, more elegant wine.
Margaux wines typically exhibit a complex bouquet with fruity aromas of raspberry, cherry, and red currant, but also floral, spicy, and roasted aromas.
Wine tourism in Margaux
Château Margaux - Source: Winekeller
All year round, a growing number of Margaux châteaux open their doors to welcome visitors, offering a variety of wine tourism experiences.
We suggest you visit the Maison du Vin et Du Tourisme Margaux online or in person, located in Place de la Tremoille in the centre of the village of Margaux.
We enjoyed cycling around Margaux and around the neighbouring villages and vineyards, admiring its many world-famous Bordeaux châteaux, especially of course the incredible ‘Château Margaux’, the lone first growth of the southern Médoc and one that really impresses before you have even set foot in the château or tasted the wines!
Château Kirwan Margaux
We decided to visit the beautiful Château Kirwan in Margaux-Cantenac - one of the few remaining family-owned Bordeaux châteaux, with a long and fascinating history - for a tour and a wine tasting.
Château Kirwan is named after an Irish man called Mark Kirwan who came to Bordeaux in the mid 18th century and married into the family that owned the original estate. After acquiring it he subsequently invested a lot into the château and the vineyards and changed the name from Château Lassalle to Château Kirwan. The château soon became synonymous with top quality wine and this has been preserved and built on over the intervening years
What classification is Château Kirwan?
In the 1855 Bordeaux classification Château Kirwan was ranked top of the Médoc third classified growths, which it has maintained over the centuries and today the estate is known for its third growth classified Grand Cru Classé wine, Château Kirwan.
Château Kirwan and its lovely gardens - source: Winekeller
Mark Kirwan sold the château shortly after the 1855 classification to the mayor of Bordeaux, Camille Godard, who was a lover of gardens as well as wine and who is responsible for the design of the beautiful gardens at Château Kirwan today.
In 1926 the château passed to the Schÿler family, one of the oldest family-owned Bordeaux négociants, who became - and remain today - the driving force behind this beautiful and successful Margaux estate.
The Château Kirwan vineyard stretches over 37 hectares planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot and comprises multiple plots of 29 different soil types - typically Margaux soils - but all different and unique. Each plot is differentiated by its terroir and soil characteristics and the vine planting strategy and harvesting is tailored to each plot. Château Kirwan is committed to and follows organic principles in the vineyard and the cellar.
To support the plot-focused vineyard strategy, the winery, vat room and cellars were completely redesigned in 2015 and 37 Italian concrete vats were installed, considered more sustainable and natural than stainless steel vats.
Typically the new vintage is transferred into French oak barrels in early October and the all-important blending process takes place soon after, combining all four grape varieties.
Château Kirwan wines
Château Kirwan produces some 200,000 bottles of wine each year, made up of the ‘first label’, the ‘Chateau Kirwan Grand Cru Classé' and a second label ‘Charmes de Kirwan’.
The Château Kirwan wine is made from grapes from the best vineyard plots and is aged for 18 months in oak barrels. The second wine, Charmes de Kirwan, is aged 50% in oak barrels and 50% in concrete.
Note that Château Kirwan wines contain a relatively higher proportion of Merlot in their blends to ensure a smooth and silky style and the French oak Bordeaux barrels/barriques are only used several times before they are resold and replaced, to ensure just a light touch of oak and special, soft aromas.
Our Château Kirwan visit
Wine tourism is important to Château Kirwan and they offer a range of tours and tastings. We enjoyed a ‘Prestige tour’ which included a tasting of both wines and a comprehensive tour comprising a walk into the vineyard, a tour of the vat room and barrel cellar and a lovely stroll around the château gardens.
We enjoyed tasting firstly the Charmes de Kirwan 2020 (50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot), followed by the Château Kirwan Grand Cru classé 2015 (50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot.)
Conclusion and personal highlights
We thoroughly enjoyed our tour and tasting at Château Kirwan - the wines were excellent but we were also most impressed by the friendliness, warmth and professionalism of all of the staff. I like to think that the fact that Château Kirwan is a family-run Bordeaux château, where the family by all accounts is very involved and active in the running of the estate and the welcoming of visitors, has an influence on this. We can highly recommend visiting!
