Chateau Kirwan, Margaux

Typical Medoc vineyard; the soil is extremely rocky and chalky

...almost looks like snow in places; "to make great wine, the vine

must suffer"

St. Julien country

Chateau Bycheville, "the Versailles of the Medoc"; actually,

the guide said most of the great chateaux now are owned

by banks and insurance companies, uninhabited and unvisited;

I was disappointed with the Medoc, scenically, no comparison

with Burgundy; except for the boarded-up chateaux, it was

mostly pastoral squalor; maybe it's just the season....

Chateau Kirwan

The Schiffer family still live there, the guide said, although

they did not personally welcome us, as the Reverdis did

Kirwan cellar; actually, there are few actual cellars in the

region...high water table

Sitting area outside the cellar; nice place to sit and watch

over your investments

Margaux chateaux; Kirwan is on the left, second or third down

Actually, I was surprised at how generous the servings were;

she gave me three; maybe it was my excellent "Merci! Sil

vous plait! Bonjour"; Kirwan is a far older grand cru; I forgot

what we tasted, a 2004 maybe, but I do remember the price,

49 euros; lots of tannin; I preferred the mellower Reverdi