Château Siaurac 2015

Château Siaurac is one of the more unusual wines we offer at Laguna Cellar.  While not a classified growth, this hidden gem of a property was previously owned by the famed First Growth Estate, Château Latour.  In October 2020, Château Siaurac was aquired by Artémis and Suravenir, a group that owns the majority stake of Château Calon Segur.  The property is managed by Vincent Millet, the general manager of the star Third Growth Property, and the trajectory of Château Siaurac is an exciting one without a doubt.  Due to numerous wine critics' ratings rising above 90 points from recent vintages, Château Siaurac is decidedly a property to watch.  The retail price is still under $30, its quality to price ratio is unbeatable.

Château Siaurac is a 46-hectare property located in the commune of Néac – a continuation of the famous Pomerol plateau.  It is the largest estate within Néac, and the vines are planted in one continuous plot. Though Pomerol receives more fanfare and critical acclaim, many argue the heavily graveled clay terroir of Néac is just as good.  There are a lot of winemakers doing amazing things here and the fact that this Right Bank commune is more obscure very much serves to the advantage of bargain hunters.

Perhaps one of the more important reasons why the wines of Château Siaurac are so amazing is because the team is fortunate enough to have Pénélope Godefroy as the technical director. Before coming over to manage Siaurac, Pénélope Godefroy was the oenologist at Château Latour.  Château Latour had so much confidence in the potential of Siaurac, it bought the property and sent its young star oenologist there to do a make-over. 

It was Pénélope who championed the transition of the First Growth property over to biodynamic viticulture, and she brings the same passion and experience to Château Siaurac. Speaking of terroir, Pénélope firmly believes in the potential of the terroir at Château Siaurac.  The estate has practiced sustainable agriculture and Biodynamic inspired techniques for a very long time.  They completely stopped chemical weeding in 2015 in addition to planting cover crops and using beehives near the vines to help with pollination. 

Château Siaurac has Organic aspirations for the future, and it’s clear Pénélope’s influence on the estate is making critics take notice. 

Their Merlot-based wines have smaller percentages of Cabernet Franc and just a kiss of Malbec, lending them an incredibly friendly, charming and easy-drinking quality.  For value-oriented wine lovers who enjoy approachable wines with great structure – look no further than Château Siaurac.  

"The 2015 Siaurac has long been making some "nifty" Lalande-de-Pomerol and this is well worth investigating. It has a sensual, fruit-forward bouquet with plenty of black cherry and cassis fruit that does not overpower. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin. There is a couple of layers of new oak to be absorbed, but there is sufficient fruit to do that and it finished with attractive truffle and white pepper notes that offer fine salinity."- Neal Martin, The Wine Advocate (4/27/2016, Issue 224); Rating: 90-92