While Château Kirwan has ticked along nicely throughout much of the 20th and early part of the 21st Century, it hasn’t exactly given first growths a run for their money. Not like another well-known Margaux third growth, cough, Palmer. But the last decade, particularly the recent trio of great vintages (2018-2020), revealed a distinct upward quality trend at Kirwan. Enough to make me sit up and take notice. So, during harvest in September this year, I took the opportunity to drop by the Château and learn about the positive changes happening here.

Delfaut is a little modest since the first positive change was to hire him in 2007. Delfaut had spent 11 years as director of Château Palmer, so he knows a thing or two about prime Margaux terroir. “We have gravel everywhere, but we have clays or sands mixed with it. Kirwan only uses the gravels with clays. The sandy soils go into the second wine. Fortunately, we have a relatively high proportion of clay—laminate clay, which is specific to the Kirwan vineyard. You could say having clays, and greater water-holding capacity is our specialty. So, in hot, dry years like 2003, we can still make very good wine. In 2003, I was the director at Palmer, where there is not so much clay. It was difficult there but not here.”

In the vertical tasting I conducted during the visit, the 2003 was indeed a surprising bright spark. And more to the point, the 2003 growing season was a sign of things to come. Since 2015, there has been a notable trend of warmer, drier vintages across the region. The harvest that I was there to witness, 2022, was a great case in point—one of the hottest, driest vintages on record in Bordeaux. And yet, the Merlot grapes I witnessed coming in appeared completely unfazed—plump and juicy as opposed to shriveled as was occurring in some other parts of Bordeaux.

“It was important to adapt the cellars and vat room to what we were seeing in the vineyard,” Delfaut continued. “That’s why in 2010, we decided to redesign the vat room. The reconstruction project started in 2014. 2015 is the first vintage in the new winery. At Kirwan, we have 37 acres, corresponding to the number of vats we have now—37. Now we pick the same plot 1-3 times, depending on the soil types in that plot.”

Moving with the times, Château Kirwan is cautiously exploring varieties besides the staple Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. “1% of the vineyard is now Carmenere,” said Delfaut. “It made it into the 2019 grand vin, even though it was only the third year of production for the vines. We have noted that we need to adapt the pruning for this variety because it can be very vegetal. We are also looking to plant Castets in the future. We introduced it into the Margaux appellation this year. It is more resistant to mildew, so it could be interesting.”

The emerging style is a more focused Château Kirwan with greater purity and delineation than in the past. It delivers impactful fruit yet possesses an effortless grace thanks to a lively backbone of freshness that defines the palate even in warmer vintages. The 2019 and 2020 finished with impressive pHs of 3.55 and 3.64, respectively. There is fleshiness, yet it is well-structured, thanks to its solid Cabernet Sauvignon core, backed up by Cabernet Franc, and without relying too heavily on the Merlot. Now is an excellent time to consider squirreling a few of these recent Kirwan vintages away in the cellar while prices are still very reasonable.