Château Giscours - Margaux
95
RP Points
95
RP Points
91
RP Points
90
RP Points
93
RP Points
95
RP Points
92
RP Points
89
RP Points
90
RP Points
90
RP Points
90
RP Points
93
RP Points
93
RP Points
91
RP Points
88
RP Points
90
RP Points
92
RP Points
88
RP Points
93
RP Points
86
RP Points
86
RP Points
Château Giscours - Margaux
Regular price€96.72
€96.72
POA
POA/
- 2 in stock
- Inventory on the way
Tasting Notes
This estate is now enjoying its finest run since its glory days in the 1970s, and the 2020 Giscours is excellent. Unwinding in the glass with deep aromas of blackberries, cassis, pencil shavings, rose petals and sweet, loamy soil, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with a layered and seamless mid-palate, excellent concentration and powdery structuring tannins.
The 2019 Giscours has turned out very well in bottle, wafting from the glass with aromas of sweet berries, cherries, burning embers, lilac and violets framed by a discreet patina of new oak. Full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it's polished and perfumed, with a velvety, seamless profile and bright animating acids, concluding with a long, resonant finish. Alexandre Van Beek and his team are taking this estate to heights it hasn't hit since the 1970s, and this is another of the great bargains of the 2019 en primeur campaign.
Deep garnet-purple coloured, the 2018 Giscours opens with fragrant notions of kirsch, black cherry compote and blackcurrant pastilles with suggestions of dried lavender, cinnamon stick and mossy tree bark. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers a good amount of red and black fruit flavours with compelling purity, framed by soft tannins and well-balanced freshness, finishing with a spicy lift.
Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2017 Giscours offers pretty plum preserves, warm cassis and wilted roses scents with fragrant earth and cinnamon stick hints. The palate is medium-bodied, elegant and plush with lovely expressiveness and a bit of spice on the finish.
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Giscours gives up aromas of cassis, chocolate, earth, tar, pepper and hoisin with touches of flowers and a meaty nuance. The palate is medium to full-bodied, firm and grainy with a great core and a long finish.
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2015 Giscours opens with expressive cassis, blackberry and red currants on the nose with touches of cedar chest, roses and pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied with a good core of muscular fruit and firm, grainy tannins, it finishes long.
The 2014 Giscours has come on leaps and bounds since I tasted it twice in barrel. It is clearly more sophisticated and complex than the du Tertre on the nose. For a start, there is more fruit concentration with red cherries, raspberry and blackcurrant laced with cedar and graphite. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, pure red cherry and crushed strawberry fruit with a precise finish that the property never used to be able to offer. This is a lovely Margaux that should drink well for 20 years.
The 2014 Giscours has come on leaps and bounds since I tasted it twice in barrel. It is clearly more sophisticated and complex than the du Tertre on the nose. For a start, there is more fruit concentration with red cherries, raspberry and blackcurrant laced with cedar and graphite. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, pure red cherry and crushed strawberry fruit with a precise finish that the property never used to be able to offer. This is a lovely Margaux that should drink well for 20 years.
Tasted at the Château Giscours vertical and a few months later again at the property, the 2012 Château Giscours is a blend of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc picked between September 27 and October 17. It has a rather conservative nose with raspberry, fresh strawberry, tobacco and light licorice scents. The palate is medium-bodied with supple black fruit, but with slightly aggressive acidity. Like the 2013, though to a lesser extent, it needs to show a little more concentration and finesse on the finish; but otherwise, enjoy this over the next decade or so.
The 2011 Château Giscours is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, picked between September 8 and October 1. It offers more fruit intensity than the 2012 and I find more Margaux florality here. It would benefit from more delineation, but there is decent delineation here. The palate is medium-bodied with supple ripe tannin on the entry, red cherry and raspberry fruit intermingling with cedar and tobacco notes. It feels a little conservative on the finish and needs more finesse, but it is a commendable contribution to the vintage.
The 2011 Château Giscours is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot, harvested between September 8 and October 1. It offers greater fruit intensity than the 2012, with a more pronounced Margaux florality. While it would benefit from increased delineation, a reasonable level is already present. The palate is medium-bodied, featuring supple, ripe tannins on the entry, with red cherry and raspberry fruit interwoven with cedar and tobacco notes. The finish is somewhat conservative and would benefit from additional finesse, though it remains a commendable expression of the vintage.
The 2011 Château Giscours is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot, picked between September 8 and October 1. It offers more fruit intensity than the 2012 and I find more Margaux florality here. It would benefit from more delineation, but there is decent delineation here. The palate is medium-bodied with supple ripe tannin on the entry, red cherry and raspberry fruit intermingling with cedar and tobacco notes. It feels a little conservative on the finish and needs more finesse, but it is a commendable contribution to the vintage.
Deep garnet in color, the 2010 Giscours slips seductively out of the glass with notions of baked black cherries, mulberries and plum preserves plus hints of cassis, pencil lead and dried Provence herbs. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is toting a fair amount of oak with a sturdy frame of chewy tannins, coming through with a long, fruity finish.
Tasted at the Château Giscours vertical, the 2009 Château Giscours is a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot picked between September 22 and October 13. Deep garnet in color, it has a sumptuous bouquet with blackberry, saddle leather, forest floor and even just a faint touch of juniper berries. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, lightly grained tannin. This is a very harmonious Giscours with cedar and a pinch of black pepper sprinkled over the black fruit. It is certainly well proportioned with one of the more "masculine" finishes for the vintage. Showing better than when I tasted it blind a couple of years ago, this is an excellent Margaux that should drink earlier than the succeeding vintage.
The 2008 Château Giscours is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot picked between September 30 and October 1. The bouquet is very well defined with ebullient red berry fruit mixed with orange peel and cedar aromas. There is something that distantly echoes a Côte de Beaune! Perhaps the purity on offer here? The palate is very well balanced with a keen line of acidity, very fine tannins and ample freshness. I loved this Giscours from barrel and it is now living up to my expectations. The terroir shines through on this wine - true Margaux. This is an excellent wine from winemaker Alexandre Van Beek.
Tasted at BI Wine & Spirits' 10-Years-On tasting, the 2007 Giscours has a pleasant mulberry, strawberry and orange blossom-scented bouquet, with the Merlot component quite expressive and lending a Right Bank-like veneer. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannin, plenty of truffle-infused black fruit with a vein of pencil lead on the finish. This bottle showed better than previous examples, including the one shown at the Giscours vertical in 2015, since it came across less austere.
Tasted at the Château Giscours vertical, the 2006 Château Giscours is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot picked between September 21 and October 9. It has been several years since I last tasted this vintage and the aromatics have evolved well, now offering quite plush redcurrant, strawberry and ferrous scents that are nicely defined. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, savory in the mouth with dried blood, rosemary and sage notes towards the finish. I like the depth here, the cohesion and length. It might not be the most flamboyant recent Giscours, however in the context of the vintage, this is certainly a commendable wine that is beginning to deliver on its promise.
The 2005 Château Giscours is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Merlot picked between September 22 and October 6. Conspicuously deep in color, both the aromatics and palate replicate the strong performance from earlier this year. The bouquet offers very fine intensity with blackberry and cedar, here a tinge of cassis that becomes accentuated with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, slightly grainy tannin. It is very well balanced and almost Saint Julien in style. It is clearly very focused with a sustained, mineral-rich finish that (as I said before) contains real energy. This is an excellent Giscours that will age nicely over the next 20-25 years.
The 2003 Château Giscours is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. Considering the vintage, the aromatics have retained a respectable degree of freshness, although it is not as nuanced or as complex as the previous two vintages. It offers redcurrant, leather and a touch of dark chocolate, perhaps reflecting the growing season more than the terroir. The palate is medium-bodied with supple ripe tannin. This is a little lactic on the mouth, smooth if not complex, but there is no flabbiness marking the finish and it offers decent length.
The 2000 Château Giscours is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc picked between September 25 and October 7. The bouquet is clearly in a different league to the previous two vintages: red plum, mulberry and cedar aromas that generously waft from the glass. There is something a little more exotic about these aromatics, with hints of stewed apricots in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and cedar-infused black fruit with hints of black truffle towards the finish.
The 1998 Château Giscours is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc picked between September 28 and October 9. It has a healthy deep garnet colour with a thin brick rim. The bouquet has melted somewhat since I last tasted it, offering mulberry, overripe oranges and light violet scents. The palate is medium bodied with a savoury opening, the acidity quite noticeable, but beginning to show just a little dryness towards the finish. This had a period where it was quite plump in the mouth. There is still the weight here, the presence, but the grainy finish tapers away too quickly.
The robust, exotic, rich, full-bodied 1990 offers low acidity, plenty of tannin, and excellent richness and fruit.
More information
Technical
Grapes
ABV
14%
Ageing
Sweetness
Serving
16° - 18° C
Drinking
2029 - 2065
Vinous
Food Pairings
LambBeefVenisonDuckGame BirdsCharcuterie and Cured MeatsMushroomsGrilled VegetablesTomato-Based DishesFresh Herbs and Aromatic DishesBrieBlue Cheese
Key Characteristics
Full-bodiedBrightVelvetyPerfumedConcentratedMedium(+) alcohol
