Château Kirwan, 3ème G.C.C. 1855 375mL 2020

Château Kirwan, 3ème G.C.C. 1855 is a Third Growth of Margaux, based in the village of Cantenac.

The estate takes its name from Mark Kirwan, an Irish merchant who married into the property in the eighteenth century and was one of many Irishmen who left their mark on the Médoc wine trade. It has belonged to the Schÿler family, Bordeaux négociants of long standing, since the 1920s. The vineyard lies on gravel croupes at Cantenac within the Margaux appellation, and the blend is led by Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot; the estate is also one of the very few in the Médoc still growing a little Carménère, the variety that all but vanished from Bordeaux after phylloxera. A new gravity-fed cellar was completed in the past decade.

Serve at 16 to 18 degrees with lamb, veal or duck.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.

Type: Red Wine
Style: Full-bodied, Structured, Refined
Grape Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot
Tastes Like: Comparable to a Cabernet Sauvignon, but more restrained in body, with finer tannins and fresher acidity than a warm-climate example
Alcohol Percentage: 14%
Closure: Cork
Size: 375mL
Appellation: Margaux AOC, Troisième Grand Cru Classé en 1855
Region: Cantenac, Margaux, Médoc, Bordeaux, France
Terroir: Gravel soils for Cabernet, clay for Merlot and deep gravel terraces for Merlot and Petit Verdot, across 35 plots
Aging: Fermented in concrete vats, then aged 18–21 months in French oak barrels, around half new
Serving Temperature: 16–18℃ – Serve slightly below room temperature

Château Kirwan takes its name from Mark Kirwan, an Irish-born merchant who married into the family of Bordeaux négociant Sir John Collingwood in the 18th century, expanded the estate and gave it an international reputation. In the 1855 Classification it was ranked first among the Third Growths of the Médoc. The Schÿler family, Bordeaux négociants since 1739 through the house of Schröder & Schÿler, has owned the estate since 1926. Since the arrival of technical director Philippe Delfaut in 2007, Kirwan has moved to a more classical, refined style of Margaux.

The estate covers 37 hectares in 35 plots in the commune of Cantenac, within the Margaux appellation. Cabernet Sauvignon is planted on warm gravel soils, Merlot on clay, and Merlot and Petit Verdot on deep gravel terraces. The wine is fermented in tulip-shaped concrete vats and aged for 18–21 months in French oak barrels, about half of them new. 2020 was an early, concentrated vintage with low yields of around 33hL/ha, and the blend is led by Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

Red Meat: Perfect with rib-eye, beef Wellington or roast sirloin
Lamb: Excellent with roast leg of lamb or a slow-cooked shoulder
Game: Pairs beautifully with venison, duck breast or pigeon
Cheese: Ideal with hard, aged cheeses such as Comté and Ossau-Iraty

Ossau-Iraty: A Pyrenean sheep’s milk cheese from southwest France, nutty and firm against the wine’s tannins
Comté (aged 18 months+): Dense and savoury, matching the wine’s depth and length
Saint-Nectaire: Supple and earthy, softened by the wine’s fine structure
Aged Mimolette: Hard and crystalline, a long-standing favourite with Bordeaux reds

Entrecôte à la Bordelaise (Rib-eye Steak with Bordelaise Sauce)

Ingredients (Serves 4):

• 2 rib-eye steaks on or off the bone, about 450g each and 4cm thick
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 40g unsalted butter
• 4 French shallots, very finely chopped
• 375mL red Bordeaux
• 250mL veal or beef stock
• 2 sprigs thyme and 1 bay leaf
• 80g beef bone marrow, soaked in cold salted water overnight
• 40g cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions:

1. Remove the steaks from the fridge 45 minutes before cooking and season well with salt.
2. Melt 20g of the butter in a saucepan over low heat and cook the shallots gently for 5 minutes until soft without colouring.
3. Add the wine, thyme and bay leaf, increase the heat and reduce by about three quarters.
4. Add the stock and reduce again by half until the sauce is glossy and lightly coats a spoon. Strain and keep warm.
5. Cut the bone marrow into 1cm slices and poach in barely simmering salted water for 1–2 minutes until just translucent. Drain.
6. Heat a heavy frying pan or grill until very hot. Rub the steaks with oil and cook for 4–5 minutes each side for medium-rare, adding the remaining 20g of butter for the last 2 minutes and basting.
7. Rest the steaks on a warm plate, loosely covered, for 8 minutes.
8. Bring the sauce back to a simmer, take it off the heat and whisk in the cold diced butter. Fold in the bone marrow and parsley and season with pepper.
9. Slice the steaks thickly, spoon over the sauce and serve with frites or roast potatoes.

Traditionally grilled over vine cuttings in the Médoc, entrecôte à la bordelaise is the dish most closely tied to the great red wines of the Left Bank. Kirwan’s Cabernet Sauvignon-led structure and firm, fine tannins meet the fat of the rib-eye and the richness of the bone marrow, while its freshness keeps the reduced wine sauce from feeling heavy.