Wine Enthusiast:
Barrel sample. There is excellent balance here: the fruit is dark and opulent, but also fresh from acidity, piled with firm but generous tannins. A wine with excellent potential. Roger Voss, June 20, 2006
Wine Spectator:
Has loads of coffee, blackberry and cigar box aromas, turning to crushed blackberry. Full-bodied, with big, chewy tannins and an aftertaste of vanilla, blackberry and espresso. Mouthpuckering. Very concentrated and structured for this wine. Best after 2015. James Suckling, March 31, 2008. Wine Advocate:
I remember tasting a number of Kirwans from the 19th century that had held up surprisingly well for over 100 years. While the 2005 will probably not last that long, it may be one of the finest wines this estate has made in the last fifty years. This brilliant, full-bodied, powerful, broodingly backward Margaux exhibits a dense purple hue along with notes of charcoal, licorice, blackberries, and graphite. Exceptionally concentrated, possessing high tannin, zesty acidity, and a 45-second finish, it should be purchased only by patient connoisseurs. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2035. Robert Parker, April 2008