Château Siaurac 2018

As with 2015, the solar nature of the vintage comes through, but the fruit is purer and brighter. Sweet and gourmand on the palate with ample red fruit, it’s less streamlined and serious than 2016, but there’s vitality and balance. It’s approachable, yet it should age well.

A soft, attractive red with plum and chocolate, as well as some spice and hazelnut undertones. It’s medium-bodied with medium, round tannins and a fresh, savory finish. Drink or hold.

The 2018 Siaurac offers smudged blackberry, boysenberry and cassis scents on the nose, high-toned and gradually finding more refinement with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with succulent tannins that belie the structure that lies behind it. It attenuates slightly toward the finish, though I do appreciate the salinity on the aftertaste. Fine.

Chocolate mint and ripe plums are on the nose and on the silky-soft, medium-bodied, forward palate. Give this just a few years in the cellar for more softness and complexity. 90-92 pts

Kunz barrel sample 19: spicy, austere bouquet, blackberry compote, pepper, wood. Firm, dry palate with fine, sandy tannins, broad fruit, angular structure, long, dry finish. Still has room to improve.

Spicy, herbaceous bouquet, blackberry compote, pepper, oak. Firm, dry palate with fine sandy tannins, broad fruit, angular structure, long, dry finish. Can still improve. 16/20 2025 - 2035

Purple with violet hues. A complex, intense bouquet with many facets. It unfolds slowly, revealing floral notes and wafts of black berries. The attack is gourmand and slightly creamy. On the palate, the wine is balanced, juicy, and endowed with fine-grained tannins. Freshness and fruit on the finish. A complete wine, enjoyable in its youth yet also showing some potential.

Logo on the cork: A inside a circle (Amorim)

The nose is fruity, fresh, racy and offers intensity, a lovely fine grain as well as elegance. It reveals notes of wild blackberry, woodland strawberry and, more subtly, cornflower, combined with hints of licorice and grey pepper, as well as very fine touches of spice and very discreet toasted nuances in the background. The palate is fruity, fresh, balanced and offers good definition, juiciness, tension, precision and a fine grain. On the palate, this wine expresses notes of juicy/ripe blackcurrant, juicy/ripe red berries and, more slightly, wild raspberry, combined with hints of grey pepper, flowers (peony, iris and a discreet touch of violet) as well as touches of spice. The tannins are elegant and very finely velvety. Good length. A very discreet hint of toasted almond lingers on the finish.