1996 Château Siran

Château Siran is in the southern part of the Margaux appellation. The 60-acre estate has been owned and operated by the Miailhe family since 1859. Today it is operated by Edouard Miailhe. The estate is a Cru Bourgeois, though Robert M. Parker Jr. has called Château Siran “the equivalent of a fifth growth in its finest vintages.” Vineyards are planted to 43% merlot, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Petit Verdot and 7% Cabernet Franc. About 100,000 bottles are produced annually. The second label is S de Siran, and the estate also makes an AOC Bordeaux Superior called Saint Jacques de Siran. Parker has noted that Siran is “making consistently delicious, fragrant, deeply colored wines that are frequently on a quality level with a Medoc fifth growth.”

Margaux is one of Bordeaux’s most famous appellations and also one of its largest, with about 3,400 acres of vineyards. Located on the Left Bank of the Gironde River, Margaux has the greatest number of classified-growth châteaux (or crus classé) according to the 1855 classification. There are twenty-one crus classé, including the most famous estate, the first growth Château Margaux. The Margaux appellation includes vineyards around the village of Margaux and the villages of Arsac, Cantenac, d’Issan, Labarde and Soussans. Wines from the best Margaux châteaux and vintages are prized for their perfumey fragrance and elegant, silky mouthfeel. Margaux wines are predominately Cabernet Sauvignon blended with Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.