Dark ruby. Bright blackcurrant and cherry aromas are complicated by violet and cedar: strikes me as deeper and richer nose than usual for Kirwan. Then somewhat more brooding in the mouth, with an austere quality but sneaky concentration to the herbal and inky dark fruit flavors. I like this wine's very fresh delivery of fruit, but the mouthcoating, building tannins keep the score down a bit.

The 2013 Kirwan has one of the better sets of aromatics from Margaux with simple blackberry and bilberry scents, plus a tinge of damp earth. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly stringy tannin but good acidity, while the finish shows less under-ripeness than its peers. It does lack length and there is a distracting metallic note on the aftertaste that contradicts the quality of the nose. It is a decent Margaux, if not performing as well as I was hoping from barrel.

Tasted blind. Deep garnet. Spirity, stalky nose. Pretty dry, almost elegant but just the wrong side of the ripeness scale, so that the finish is tough. (JH)