1982 Siran

The 1982 Siran is a vintage that I have tasted once before and this bottle reconfirmed my feeling that it could have been better. Showing quite a lot of colour degradation, it has a light bouquet with red cherries and fennel, rather one-dimensional on the context of the vintage. It feels a bit over-cropped and dilute. The palate is medium-bodied with sour cherry and cola, rustic and light for an 1982, with a tapered finish.

The 1982 Siran is one of those wines that probably dented its reputation at the time because in the context of the growing season, it should be better. The red berry fruit is receding with quite strong white pepper and fennel scents. The palate is medium-bodied and fine-boned, yet the inescapable fact is that is feels rather rustic compared to its peers and appears to be drying out on the finish. Crack this open in the near future. Tasted from an ex-château bottle.

Tasted at the vertical at the château, the 1982 Château Siran appears fully mature in colour. It has a well-defined, earthy bouquet with touches of mint infusing the vestiges of red berry fruit, mixed with fennel and white pepper. The palate is medium-bodied with fine structure, although it is clearly not as concentrated as the top wines of the vintage. This is still a little rustic and foursquare, but it has aged in accomplished fashion and what it might lack in sophistication it makes up for in freshness. There is no chance of it improving further and dryness on the finish suggests that it is advisable to pop this sooner rather than later, unless you own larger formats. Tasted February 2016.