Château Kirwan

Label for the anniversary of the ownership of Château Kirwan by Schröder and Schÿler

Merlot berries on the sorting table at Château Kirwan

The Château Kirwan is one of the most famous wineries in the Médoc in the Bordeaux wine-growing region . It is located in the municipality of Cantenac, which belongs to the area of the Margaux appellation in the Médoc. In the Bordeaux classification in 1855, the estate was awarded third place ( Troisième Cru Classé ).

The vineyards are in the immediate vicinity of Château Desmirail and Château Prieuré-Lichine . The vines have an average age of 27 years and are divided into the grape varieties Cabernet Sauvignon (40%), Merlot (30%), Cabernet Franc (20%) and Petit Verdot (10%). The Grand Vin matures in barriques for 18 months , one third of which is renewed annually.

The second wine of the estate is called Les Charmes de Kirwan .

history

The origin goes back to a noble estate Lasalle in the 17th century. At the beginning of the 18th century it was bought by the British wine merchant John Collingwood, whose daughter married the Irishman Mark Kirwan, who gave the estate its current name in 1775. On the occasion of a visit to Bordeaux, the later US President Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) visited Château Kirwan (Jefferson described the estate under the name Quirouen ) and classified it in the second category . After several changes of ownership, it was bought by the Schröder and Schÿler company in 1925; the Schÿler family still owns shares today. The estate is currently run by Yann, Natalie and Sophie Schÿler. Between 1991 and 2001, advice was sought from the renowned oenologist Michel Rolland and since then extensive investments have been made in the cellar. Jacques Boissenot was later hired as an accompanying oenologist.

literature

Charles Cocks, Edouard Féret, Bruno Boidron: Bordeaux et ses vins . 18th edition. Èdition Féret et Fils, Bordeaux 2007, ISBN 978-2-35156-013-6 .
Horst Dippel : The wine lexicon . 3. Edition. Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1999, ISBN 3-596-13826-4 .
Robert Parker : Parker's Wine Guide (= Collection Rolf Heyne ). Heyne, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-453-16305-2 .
Nicolas de Rabaudy: Château Kirwan. Histoire d'une renaissance . 1st edition. Stock, Paris 1995, ISBN 2-234-04418-9 .

Individual evidence

^ Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson, Gutenberg Project

“Of red wines, there are four vineyards of the first quality; viz. 1. Chateau Margau, belonging to the Marquis d'Agincourt, who makes about one hundred and fifty tons, of one thousand bottles each. He has engaged to Jernon, a merchant. 2. La Tour de Segur, en Saint Lambert, belonging to Monsieur Miresmenil, who makes one hundred and twenty-five tons. 3. Hautbrion, belonging to two thirds to M. le Comte de Femelle, who has engaged to Barton, a merchant: the other third to the Comte de Toulouse, at Toulouse. The whole is seventy-five tons. 4. Chateau de la Fite, belonging to the President Pichard, at Bordeaux, who makes one hundred and seventy-five tons. The wines of the three first, are not in perfection till four years old: those of de la Fite, being somewhat lighter, are good at three years; that is, the crop of 1786 is good in the spring of 1789. These growths, of the year 1783, sell now at two thousand livres the ton; those of 1784, on account of the superior quality of that vintage, sell at twenty-four hundred livres; those of 1785, at eighteen hundred livres; those of 1786, at eighteen hundred livres, though they had sold at first for only fifteen hundred livres. Red wines of the second quality, are Rozan, Dabbadie or Lionville, la Rose, Quirouen , Durfort; in all eight hundred tons, which sell at one thousand livres, new. The third class, are Galons, Mouton, Gassie, Arboete, Pontette, de Ferme, Candale; in all two thousand tons, at eight or nine hundred livres. After these, they are reckoned common wines, and sell from five hundred livres, down to one hundred and twenty livres, the ton. All red wines decline after a certain age, losing color, flavor, and body. Those of Bordeaux begin to decline at about seven years old. "

- Thomas Jefferson

[1] Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson, Gutenberg Project

“Of red wines, there are four vineyards of the first quality; viz. 1. Chateau Margau, belonging to the Marquis d'Agincourt, who makes about one hundred and fifty tons, of one thousand bottles each. He has engaged to Jernon, a merchant. 2. La Tour de Segur, en Saint Lambert, belonging to Monsieur Miresmenil, who makes one hundred and twenty-five tons. 3. Hautbrion, belonging to two thirds to M. le Comte de Femelle, who has engaged to Barton, a merchant: the other third to the Comte de Toulouse, at Toulouse. The whole is seventy-five tons. 4. Chateau de la Fite, belonging to the President Pichard, at Bordeaux, who makes one hundred and seventy-five tons. The wines of the three first, are not in perfection till four years old: those of de la Fite, being somewhat lighter, are good at three years; that is, the crop of 1786 is good in the spring of 1789. These growths, of the year 1783, sell now at two thousand livres the ton; those of 1784, on account of the superior quality of that vintage, sell at twenty-four hundred livres; those of 1785, at eighteen hundred livres; those of 1786, at eighteen hundred livres, though they had sold at first for only fifteen hundred livres. Red wines of the second quality, are Rozan, Dabbadie or Lionville, la Rose, Quirouen , Durfort; in all eight hundred tons, which sell at one thousand livres, new. The third class, are Galons, Mouton, Gassie, Arboete, Pontette, de Ferme, Candale; in all two thousand tons, at eight or nine hundred livres. After these, they are reckoned common wines, and sell from five hundred livres, down to one hundred and twenty livres, the ton. All red wines decline after a certain age, losing color, flavor, and body. Those of Bordeaux begin to decline at about seven years old. "

- Thomas Jefferson