91 points Wine Enthusiast
A single-vineyard wine made by the winemaking team of Margaux estate Château Siran, this wine has structure, dense tannins and layer upon layer of black fruits. Wood aging shows strongly here, with a light burn of alcohol. The wine definitely needs time, so drink from 2022.
80% Merlot, 10.5% Petit Verdot, and 9.5% Cabernet Sauvignon. From an eleven hectare single-vineyard plot on the Margaux border. 25 year-old vines planted in a sandy gravel subsoil with clay topsoil. Fermented in stainless steel and aged for twelve months in French oak, with two rackings.
"This outstanding property in Labarde in the southern part of the Margaux appellation is making consistently delicious, fragrant, deeply colored wines that are in quality on a par with the best Grands Bourgeois Exceptionnels." - Robert Parker, Bordeaux: The Definitive Guide For The Wines Produced Since 1961
Chateau Siran is a highly regarded Bordeaux producer vinifying wine in Margaux. We have had a vintage or two of their Margaux over the years, but we didn’t know they produce a second wine named Saint Jaques De Siran. And it is this wine that recently knocked our socks off while tasting through an assortment of French wines. Saint Jacques de Siran is a throwback to the Bordeaux of yesteryear with its oak-influenced characteristics. This is not a new-aged, acid-driven Bordeaux all about upfront juicy fruit. No, this has all those classic notes that made Bordeaux popular in the first place, like cedar, saddle leather, tobacco leaf, and dried fruits. I had a flashback while tasting this that it was the early 2000s and I had Bordeau from the nineties in my glass!
Chateau Siran has long been recognized as one of the top estates in Margaux. The property has been in the Miailhe family for six generations– a total of 160 years. Today, the property covers 88 hectares, with 38 hectares planted to vines. The other fifty hectares are left as woods and meadows, for their beauty and to promote biodiversity, a priority of the Siran team.
The majority of Chateau Siran’s vines are planted in the commune of Margaux, but they also have a very special 11 hectare parcel on the border, which is classified as Bordeaux Superieur and bottled as “Saint-Jacques de Siran”. The terroir here has clay topsoil over the famous Bordeaux sandy gravel subsoil. The vines are planted at a density of 5,000 vines per hectare and average 25 years old. The Miailhe family has practiced sustainable agriculture since 2000 and the vineyards have been certified sustainable, HVE3 since 2018. Only organic fertilizers are used and they work with grass cover and plowing to control weeds