Château Kirwan is one of the oldest estates of Margaux, ranked a third growth in 1855. It takes its name from Mark Kirwan, an Irish wine merchant who married into the property in the eighteenth century.

The estate covers around 35 hectares on the gravel plateau of Cantenac, in the heart of the Margaux appellation, and has been owned by the Schröder & Schÿler family since 1925.

The style follows the appellation: perfume before power — floral aromatics rather than weight.

2003 is the heatwave vintage — the summer that broke temperature records across France and produced Bordeaux unlike any before it: very ripe, low in acid, tannins softened early. Margaux, on its lighter gravel, handled the heat better than most of the Left Bank.

This is a double magnum — three litres, the equivalent of four bottles. The larger the format, the slower the wine ages, and a 2003 in this size is noticeably fresher than the same wine in bottle. It is also, simply, the format for a table of eight.

Dark fruit and leather over tobacco and dried violets; rich on the palate, the tannins soft, closing warm and savoury.