Chateau Siran Margaux Bordeaux, Complete Guide

Learn everything about Chateau Siran Margaux with wine tasting notes and wine with food pairing tips. Learn the best vintages, a history of the property, and information on the vineyards, and winemaking. If you want to read about other important, Bordeaux Chateaux: Links to all Bordeaux Wine Producer Profiles

Chateau Siran History, Overview

Chateau Siran has a history in the Medoc that dates back to 1428, making it one of the oldest estates in Margaux. The property took its name from Guilhem de Siran, the first owner of the estate. Since then, Chateau Siran has been owned by several interesting families over the centuries, including the Toulouse Lautrec family. The owners were the grandparents of the famous French painter.

Chateau Siran has been the property of the Miailhe family since 1858, having purchased the estate from the Lautrec family. Perhaps it is the connection to Toulouse Lautrec that inspired Chateau Siran to create a series of art labels.

Similar to what Chateau Mouton Rothschild does in Pauillac each year with their labels, from 1980 to 2005, Chateau Siran also created a new label for each vintage that features a different artist. However, from the 2005 vintage forward, Siran retained the same label. For the 2020 vintage, Chateau Siran returned to artist-designed labels.

In late 2014, Chateau Siran finished a complete renovation and modernization of its cellars and wine-making facilities along with its museum. The museum, which is worth a trip to see has a stunning collection of wine-related objects including several ancient amphorae, the oldest of which can be dated all the way back to 300 BC.

If you’re visiting Siran, be sure to ask to see the only wine cellar in Bordeaux built to withstand a nuclear explosion or the failure of the nuclear plant in Blayais. The bomb shelter, which is really just used as a cellar to store their oldest bottles was built during the 1980s.

Chateau Siran Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes, Winemaking

The 25-hectare Left Bank vineyard of Chateau Siran is planted with Merlot 46%, Cabernet Sauvignon 44%,
Petit Verdot 9% and Cabernet Franc 1%, which shows a slight increase in the Cabernet Sauvignon and an equal decrease in the Cabernet Franc. The vineyard is located in the southern part of the Margaux appellation, close to Chateau Dauzac on one side of the road and Chateau Giscours on the other side.

The terroir is gravel and sand soils. The vineyard has a vine density that ranges between 9,000 and 10,000 vines per hectare. On average the vines are kept at 30 years of age. Although they also have vines over 100 years of age that were planted in 1920! At its peak, the vineyard rises up to 12 meters in elevation. By 2020, 10% of the vineyard has moved to be organically farmed.

At various points in time, Siran was consulted by Michel Rolland from 1995 to 2004, who was followed by Denis Dubourdieu from 2004. Starting with the 2015 vintage, Chateau Siran began working with Hubert de Bouard of Chateau Angelus and the wines have never been better. In fact, 2015 is a contender for being one of the finest wines the estate has ever produced!

To produce the wine of Chateau Siran, the wine is vinified in 37 stainless steel vats ranging in size from 60 hectoliters to 180 hectoliters. They also use 6 concrete vats as well. Malolactic fermentation takes place mostly in tanks, though a portion of the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in barrels. The wine is aged in an average of 50% new, French oak barrels for 12 months before bottling. There is a second wine, S de Siran. On average, the annual production of Siran is close to 10,000 cases of wine per vintage.

For now, 2015 Siran is the finest wine the estate has ever produced in its history. I have not had the chance to taste really mature vintages, but people I trust have had positive experiences with very old vintages. The wines made at Siran from top vintages 1961 and older are said to be quite good.

The best vintages of Chateau Siran are: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2009, and 2005. Older vintages of Siran however, are well worth buying, if you can find any. The 1961 tasted recently was sublime.

Not all of their vines are located in the Margaux appellation. In fact, Chateau Siran also owns 11-hectares of vines in Bordeaux Superieur, where they produce Siran Saint Jacques. In addition, Chateau Siran also produces a wine from 2 hectares of vines they own in the Haut Medoc appellation which are used to produce Bel-Air de Siran.

When to Drink Chateau Siran, Anticipated Maturity, Decanting Time

Chateau Siran can be enjoyed on the young side with decanting. Young vintages can be decanted for an average of 1-3 hours, give or take. This allows the wine to soften and open its perfume. Older vintages might need very little decanting, just enough to remove the sediment.

Chateau Siran is usually better with at least 7-10 years of bottle age. Of course, that can vary slightly, depending on the vintage character. Chateau Siran offers its best drinking and should reach peak maturity between 10-22 years of age after the vintage.

Serving Chateau Siran with Wine, Food, Pairing Tips

Chateau Siran is best served at 15.5 degrees Celsius, 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The cool, almost cellar temperature gives the wine more freshness and lift. The wine will also warm up in the glass as the aromatics develop.

Chateau Siran is best served with all types of classic meat dishes, veal, pork, beef, lamb, duck, game, roast chicken, roasted, braised, and grilled dishes. Chateau Siran is a perfect match with Asian dishes, hearty fish courses like tuna, mushrooms, and pasta as well as cheese.

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