This year Chateau Siran is celebrating its 150th anniversary in the Miailhe family. The current proprietor, Edouard Miailhe (5th generation to manage the chateau) presented some recent vintages and a 1959 at Sala restaurant. The Miailhes have a long history in the Philippines going back about 200 years. They still own substantial properties here and Edouard related that during the bad times in Bordeaux in the early 20th century up to the 1940s, it was the returns from their investments in the Philippines which allowed them to weather the crises in France.
Champagne Jacquesson 732 - The welcome drink. Very light with little flavor. I remember this was much better when it was newly released. Not aging too well.
S de Siran 2005 - Good nose. Dry, firm, tannic wine. A big wine that can age a bit more. Good.
Chateau Siran 2005 - Inky. Deep, rich, warm flavor. Ripe berries and cloves on the nose. Later, some fragrant wood and mint. Ripe fruit but very dry. Spicy finish with good length. Excellent, complex wine with a long life ahead of it.
Chateau Siran 2004 - Fruity nose. Soft and leathery after 2 hours decanting. Medium-bodied and approachable. Drinking nicely now if decanted.
Chateau Siran 1999 - From magnum. Beautiful nose, camphor. Later, a bit of cream. Dry, still tannic and leathery. Earthy. Well-balanced. The consensus was this wine was showing the best and very close to peak. Possibly perfect now from a regular bottle but maybe needs another year or two to reach perfection if from a magnum. Excellent.
Chateau Siran 1959 -From magnum. A bit muddy but much darker than one would expect from a 50 year-old wine. Just starting to get pruney. Still has some good weight to it but the fruit is mostly faded which makes the acidity jut out at the finish. This has definitely seen better days so best to drink up.