Chateau Kirwan Margaux 2014

I give this wine two socks because it knocked them both off. This 2014 Margaux was everything it promised to be: smooth, silky, leggy, a cherry bomb scented with lavender, maybe a little orange peel and chocolate… I picked it up at Dorignac’s and it was not cheap. But so worth it. Pairing this wine with my charred rib-eye was like sending a runway model on a date with a plumber. If there were such a thing as winematch.com, this wine would have been coupled with an elegant roast duck with sour cherry sauce. But, hey, you’ve got to love the one you’re with, right? I’m going back to Dorginac’s for another bottle of this and next time I promise I’ll do a better job as match maker.

What did the experts say? Robert Parker said: The 2014 Kirwan has a brisk raspberry and wild strawberry nose, a touch confit with rose petal scents emerging with time, the vanilla aspect observed in barrel now completely assimilated. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and well-judged acidity. Harmonious in the mouth with good body, it builds nicely with cedar and white pepper-infused black fruit, though it just cuts away swiftly on the finish that maybe knocked off a point on the bottle tasting in October 2016, though six months later, a second bottle showed more persistence. This is a commendable Kirwan that should give 15-20 years of pleasure.