Winemaker Notes
From the end of August, sun, light and heat settled in permanently, constituting the longest, hottest and driest Indian summer for 100 years! Maturation took place in exceptional conditions, the plots were picked without any particular stress, depending on the full maturity. The Merlot grapes, at their peak at the end of September, express suppleness, aromatic richness and unctuousness. The Petit Verdots, with their very colourful juices, follow closely and keep a great aromatic freshness. Finally, the Cabernets are concentrated with an ideal balance between aromas and power.
Blend: 53.5% Merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8.5% Petit Verdot.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
The red and black fruits and delicately herbal character make this quite a complex wine. For this appellation and given the wine’s youthfulness, the balance of fruit, tannins and alcohol is almost seamless.
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Wine Enthusiast
Siran is in the south of the Margaux appellation just where the gravel outcrops rise above the river. It shows its fine position in this tannic wine. It has all the black-currant fruit buried for the moment under the structure. It is a serious wine that will repay aging.
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Decanter
This exhibits a big, ripe, fleshy, blackberry nose, with vibrant fruit and a deep red colour. It's sumptuous, concentrated and very rich, balanced by bold tannins yet not too extracted. It's quite spicy and just lacks a little drive on the finish, but this is a fine offering from this increasingly impressive estate.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Siran has a very refined bouquet with blackberry, briary and light tertiary aromas. There is fine precision here, understated compared to the Sirans of old. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and a keen line of acidity. Linear in style and a little conservative towards the finish, but showing freshness from start to finish. Edouard Miailhe, proprietor of Siran, has really upped the ante here and this 2014 is just a classic Bordeaux claret that should drink well from the start, yet has the substance to suggest it will age with aplomb.
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Jeb Dunnuck
While I wasn’t able to taste the 2015, I purchased a bottle of the 2014 Chateau Siran for this report. It’s a charming, elegant 2014 that offers good ripeness in its black cherry, currants, licorice, and damp earth aromatics, as well as subtle minerality with time in the glass. With a touch of herbacousness, medium body, integrated acidity and a good finish, it’s an impressive, classic Margaux to drink over the coming 15 years or so.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Silky, seductive and polished are the words that characterize the best wines from Margaux, the most inland appellation of the Médoc on the Left Bank of Bordeaux.
Margaux’s gravel soils are the thinnest of the Médoc, making them most penetrable by vine roots—some reaching down over 23 feet for water. The best sites are said to be on gentle outcrops, or croupes, where more gravel facilitates good drainage.
The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification but it is nonetheless important in regards to history of the area. In 1855 the finest chateaux were deemed on the basis of reputation and trading price—at that time. In 1855, Chateau Margaux achieved first growth status, yet it has been Chateau Palmer (officially third growth from the 1855 classification) that has consistently outperformed others throughout the 20th century.
Chateau Margaux in top vintages is capable of producing red Cabernet Sauvignon based wines described as pure, intense, spell-binding, refined and profound with flavors and aromas of black currant, violets, roses, orange peel, black tea and incense.
Other top producers worthy of noting include Chateau Rauzan-Ségla, Lascombes, Brane-Cantenac, and d’Issan, among others.
The best wines of Margaux combine a deep ruby color with a polished structure, concentration and an unrivaled elegance.