2016 Château Siran, Margaux. Drinking it a bit young and making peace with that.

1 Comment

1. 

   winery_bound_expat 2 hours ago

   We let this one decant for about two hours while we were cooking, which might have been a touch long but honestly there was still some off-gassing in the glass when we poured it, so maybe not.

   The nose is cherry and raspberry, really jammy. Pleasant, but there’s a medicinal quality underneath that pulls away some of the depth I was hoping for. Between that and how thin it looked in the glass, I would’ve guessed something closer to a Pinot if I was tasting blind, even though I knew it was Margaux going in.

   The palate caught me off guard though. Much heavier on the tannins than the legs suggested. They dried my mouth out right away, but faded quickly. That quick fade tells me another few years of age would’ve done wonders here. Red fruit carries through, sugar is low, the flavor is deep and rich but definitely not mellow yet. I didn’t get much oak at all, which I think tracks with Siran using a lower percentage of new barrels.

   This particular bottle didn’t have the best life before it got to me, so I’m grading on intent more than execution here. And I think the intent is solid. It’s a good Margaux at a Cru Bourgeois price.

   Served it alongside some cheeses and honey, but honestly it would pair better with duck or pork with some kind of fruit jus. Would buy again.

   12/20 on my personal scale. Anyone had Siran with more age on it? Curious whether 15 or 20 years really opens this one up or if it just kind of is what it is.