95-97 Barrel Sample. With its new cellars, the estate is performing at top speed and this vintage keeps up the fine track record. Firm tannins and beautifully perfumed fruit are blending together to give a wine that has style as well as structured fruitiness, with all the elegance of great Margaux. Think long-term aging for this wine.

Blackcurrants with bark, cedar and dried flowers coming through in the nose. Full-bodied with integrated tannins and a long, linear finish. Racy and refined. Sophisticated. Try after 2024.

Rich nose, nicely expressive. The palate is filled with cool but also softly sweet blue fruits, black cherries, blueberries and blackcurrants. Liquorice and wet stone comes through straight away, a real mineral aspect, while there's some stalky aspects too - smoked cedar around the edges that needs a bit of time to soften. I like the structure and clarity here, such precision and balance. Lots to enjoy - one to hold on to.

The 2019 Kirwan retains the engaging floral aromas that I noticed from barrel, well-defined and fragrant, rose petals and a touch of peony complementing the red currant and wild strawberry fruit. The fresh palate is medium-bodied, fleshy and generous, with supple tannins and a hint of white pepper toward the finish, which fans out nicely. This is one of the best Kirwans in recent years and yet I still feel this Margaux can reach higher.

Redcurrants, Bing cherry, graphite, licorice, violet, and flowery incense notes all define the bouquet of the 2019 Chateau Kirwan, a medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated Margaux that has a pretty, elegant, juicy style. It doesn't have the density of the top wines in the appellation, yet it's certainly nicely balanced, has supple tannins, and nicely integrated acidity, all making for a beautifully polished, elegant 2019 to drink over the coming 20 years or so.

Lets very dark plum sauce, cassis and boysenberry preserve flavors unfurl over silky tannins, with black tea and a light sanguine hint infusing the finish. What you see is what you get—and it's delicious. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Carmenère. Drink now through 2032. 10,416 cases made.

The 2019 Kirwan opens in the glass with a reticent bouquet of muddled berry fruit, spices and pencil shavings, followed by a medium-bodied, youthfully firm palate with a delicate core of fruit and powdery structuring tannins. This lacks a little precision and plenitude in this generous vintage.