Château Siran: William Miailhe
Frédéric Miailhe died in 1952, and the Miailhe properties were passed down through the generations, coming first to Edouard Miailhe (1898 – 1959) and then William Miailhe (born 1931). The latter looked after not only Château Siran but also Château Dauzac and Château Bellegarde (the latter used as a second label for Château Siran for some time). At this point some members of the Miailhe family declared they wanted to sell, and as a result the Miailhe properties were divided out among the various family members who remained interested. William Miailhe kept hold of Château Siran, at the time an 80-hectare property, with 35 hectares planted to vines, which he looked after with the help of his wife, Brigitte Miailhe.
During the coming years William and Brigitte revitalised the estate, installing field drains in the vineyards and restoring the vat-rooms. It was also they who built the property’s fully-equipped fall-out bunker, installed following the nuclear incident at Three Mile Island in 1979. Today this bunker resembles an Aladdin’s cave of vinous delights more than a refuge for times of disaster, as it is used as a store-room for older vintages of Château Siran, dating back to the early years of the 20th century. It also serves as the Miailhe family cellar, which naturally includes numerous vintages of Château Siran as well as wines from the other Miailhe estates of yesteryear, with Château Palmer, Château Pichon-Lalande and Château Ormes de Pez featuring quite heavily. These precious bottles are all protected against unanticipated nuclear incidents by a huge steel door weighing 2000 kg.
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