Château Sirio is a Irish - Franco owned winery situated near the village of Cérons in Graves, 30 km south of Bordeaux. The property, purchased In December 2015 by Emer Kirwan Buckley, from Monkstown in Co Dublin and her husband Fabrice, produces red and dry white wines from the Graves appellation in Bordeaux. The couple committed themselves producing the very best wines the terroir would allow here and have replanted more than 12 hectares of vines since they arrived just 9 years ago, and the fruit of this which is bring borne today. Wine has been made on this land since at least the mid-eighteenth century. The vines are planted in one piece around the property, surrounded by forests. A natural wetland with a pond and bamboo trees provides coolness even in summer, resulting in a microclimate which impacts the pruning and harvesting schedule, frequently later than neighbouring wineries. All this is a long way from Monkstown, Co. Dublin where Emer was born and grew up, drinking far more tea than wine, but things change!
After music studies in Italy she moved to Paris, to develop her career as a harpsichordist and teacher. Fabrice was the head of a company working on restoration of historical monuments and he also dreamed of one day having his own winery. The couple spent a few years searching for a small estate before finally finding their “perle rare”. They renamed it Château Sirio after the Latin name of the village of Cérons and of the nearby Ciron river, the latter well-known for its magical morning mists essential to the elaboration of the great Sauternes wines.
Fabrice and Emer’s ambition is to produce fine wines which express the unique flavour and typicity of their terroir. Their commitment to quality and respect for the environment extends to the entire production process, from vineyard work to bottling. The soil is enriched with organic fertilisers, with cover-cropping between the rows to aid the development of a healthy microbiological ecosystem. Each plot is harvested at optimum maturity. Since 2018 they have been winning international recognition at awards ceremonies around the world. Of all the markets they export to, Emer maintains says that seeing Chateau Sirio in Ireland, completes the winemaking circle and makes all the effort over the last decade worth it!
