Château Siran

History of Château Siran

The estate takes its name from the owner of its fief in the Middle Ages: in 1428, Guilhem de Siran swore an oath at the church of Macau and appears as the first known holder of the Siran farm. From the 17th century onwards, wine began to be produced on these gravel lands. In the 18th century, Siran became the possession of François Augustin Baron du Bosq, mayor of Labarde, who had the elegant chartreuse still visible today built before emigrating in 1791. The property was passed down by inheritance to his daughter Jeanne Adèle, who married Alphonse, Comte de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa, great-grandparents of the future painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

On 14 January 1859, just four years after the famous 1855 classification, the Toulouse-Lautrec family sold the estate for 100,000 francs to Léo Barbier, an ancestor of the Miailhe family. His two daughters married their neighbours, Paul and Alexandre Sollberg, sons of a Bordeaux broker. The modern history of the estate began when the Sollberg daughters entrusted the management of the property to wine broker Frédéric Miailhe and Marcel Mortier, nephew of the manager of Château Lafite-Rothschild. After twenty years of work at the estate, Frédéric Miailhe bought back Siran in 1905. His descendants would extend the family empire throughout the 20th century with the acquisition of Château Dauzac, fifth classified growth of Margaux, followed by Châteaux Coufran, Soudars and Verdignan in the Haut-Médoc, as well as stakes in Château Palmer and Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse. In 2003, all these efforts were rewarded by Siran's nomination to the rank of Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel, a distinction then shared by only eight other estates. When the classification was annulled in 2007, the property permanently renounced the designation. That same year, Édouard Miailhe, fifth generation, took over the running of the estate from William-Alain and Brigitte Miailhe, and chose to call upon oenologist Denis Dubourdieu after eleven years of collaboration with Michel Rolland. From 1980 to 2007, the labels of the fine wine were entrusted to artists, the first paying homage to Solidarnosc, and this collection is today on display at the estate.

Terroirs and Vines of Château Siran

The vineyard spreads across the Labarde plateau, in the southern part of the Margaux appellation, on fine Günzian gravel ridges deposited by the Garonne. The location is exceptional: the plots are literally surrounded by estates classified in 1855, a guarantee of the intrinsic quality of the subsoil. These deep, perfectly draining and nutrient-poor gravels force the vine to root deeply and are the source of the tannic finesse and floral fragrance characteristic of the great Margaux wines.

Surrounding these Margaux plots lie sandy-gravelly soils under the Haut-Médoc appellation, and a little further away, a terrefort vineyard under the Bordeaux Supérieur appellation, an integral part of the estate, whose lieu-dit owes its name to a chapel — a stop on the Camino de Compostela — that still stands in the midst of the vines. The encépagement of the fine wine combines Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in roughly equal proportions, complemented by Petit Verdot in an unusually high share for the appellation, as well as a few rows of Cabernet Franc. It is precisely this Petit Verdot that contributes the spicy note reinforcing the unique character of Siran's wines. The management of the vineyard favours precision work, plot-by-plot selection and the most limited intervention possible, guided by a philosophy openly embraced by the family: to accompany rather than constrain, and to learn from each vintage.

Vinifications at Château Siran

The harvests are carried out by hand, triggered plot by plot according to ripeness, with rigorous sorting to ensure that only impeccable grapes enter the chai. The stated objective is to transform these grapes in the most natural way possible into an elegant and silky wine that respects the beauty of the terroir.

Fermentations take place notably in the traditional old wooden vat room, still in use and open to visitors, complemented by modern temperature-controlled tanks. Extractions are conducted gently, with measured pump-overs, the team always seeking the balance between soft tannins, fruit intensity and persistent freshness rather than demonstrative concentration. Ageing then continues in French oak barrels in the estate's barrel cellar, with a proportion of new wood adjusted each year to the structure of the vintage, generally around one third. Every wine in the range, regardless of its appellation, benefits from exactly the same care. The estate also maintains an exceptional wine library housed in a former nuclear shelter built specially for this purpose, where nearly 30,000 bottles rest, the oldest dating back to 1912, an eloquent testament to the ageing potential of Siran's wines.

The cuvées of Château Siran

Château Siran (Margaux AOC): the fine wine of the estate, the fruit of a subtle blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot that reflects the identity of the Labarde terroir. Both powerful and subtle, it captivates with its deep colour, its delicate nose of red and black fruits, violet, cedar and spices, with that peppery touch contributed by the Petit Verdot. The palate is fruity and elegant, endowed with silky tannins, lovely freshness and remarkable length. It is a classic-style Margaux that gains greatly from a few years of cellaring and can evolve over fifteen to twenty-five years in the greatest vintages, as the vertical tastings organised at the estate demonstrate. It pairs perfectly with lamb, roast duck, grilled red meat or aged cheeses.

S de Siran (Margaux AOC): the second wine of the estate, sourced from young plots aged five to fifteen years and a variable selection, depending on the vintage, from within the fine wine. It generally represents 20 to 30% of the total volume produced by the estate under the Margaux appellation. Vinified in the same way as its elder, it is distinguished by a merlot-dominant blend that gives it immediate charm. Refined and complex at the same time, it is a seductive wine, greatly appreciated by enthusiasts, and has become one of the classics of the appellation. It can be enjoyed young or kept for five to ten years.

Bel Air de Siran (Haut-Médoc AOC): sourced from the sandy-gravelly soils of the Haut-Médoc appellation that surround the estate's Margaux plots. This noble terroir, planted with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, benefits from exactly the same care as the other wines of the property. Bel Air de Siran plays on freshness, resting on a crunchy fruit character, notes of liquorice and blackcurrant, and a long finish. A refined and elegant wine, to be enjoyed immediately or kept for five to eight years.