Chateau Giscours

2011 is another masterful vintage from this great Margaux estate. I’m drinking my 2001 and 2002 Ch.Giscours at home at the moment, and both are singing. The 2011 is going to be even better. Not quite 2009 or 2010 level but only a fraction behind and will drink earlier than those two great years. Sweet black fruits with a real sense of richness and depth that few properties have this year. Exceptional 3 minute finish which only makes you want it to mature faster so you can pull the cork and get on with it! Delicious.
Simon Staples - Sales Director, Asia

Giscours was one of my favourite wines of the week. It is multi-layered with an ultra-fine tannic structure that makes you really fancy drinking it now! It has a great, juicy density that's completely compelling. Not as complex as 2010 but definitely up there with the 2009 Giscours. A favourable euro rate, a bountiful crop and a savvy head honcho at the Château will see this coming in at a great price and early release. No pressure there then.
Simon Staples, Sales Director - Asia

Round and seductive, Ch. Giscours is brimming with dark fruit this year, showing an inky colour. It is neatly packed with dense fruit, with good concentration and luscious tannins. Black fruit dominates the nose and palate. There is an elegance here, alongside a structure which demonstrates the super terroir of this property and indeed the appellation. Cool, refreshing acidity appears on the finish and textured tannins complete a really attractive mouth-feel. A broad, fleshy fruit profile really appeals.

One of my favourite châteaux in the Médoc, Ch. Giscours has been making consistent, hugely enjoyable and affordable top quality Margaux since 2000, and 2012 is certainly no exception. Sometimes criticised for producing a more ‘masculine’ style of Margaux (that I thoroughly enjoy), this is not the case this year. Multi-layered, refined with a beautiful freshness and elegance that is the personification of its commune, this will be a reasonably early drinker that will deliver great satisfaction in a few years..
Simon Staples, Asia Director

It is reassuring to see that even in a vintage like 2007 Ch. Giscours retains its masculine, cerebral style, albeit with a rare streak of seductive charm. A fragrant, slightly heady, blackberry nose is supported by a dense palate packed full of rich, dried black fruit, creamy morello cherries and licorice. The velvety tannins emerge on the long finish alongside subtle mocha and bitter chocolate notes. This has more elegant Margaux characteristics than usual but its depth and richness mark it out as unquestionably Giscours. One of the few successes in Margaux in 2007

A full powerful richness to the nose with notes of forest fruit and cassis; whilst still keeping that classic Margaux fragrance. Huge concentration of black fruit on the palate with juicy tannins that fill the mouth whilst the crisp acid cuts straight through the fruit and retains it's remarkable freshness. More full-bodied than many wines from the commune but still, however, unmistakably Margaux.  
Hong Kong Fine Wine Team
This is very typically Margaux, with an extremely attractive perfumed nose of ripe red fruit and roses. The palate was lighter than expected, with a poised dark fruit core enveloped by an obvious, but very fine, tannic structure. A multi-layered complexity of flavour shows promise and became more apparent having been open for a few hours. A delicious treat, but I would probably tuck it away for a few more years Drink now-2025+.
Fine Wine Team

Ch. Giscours is always a more serious wine than its stable mate, Ch. du Tertre - a result of a very different terroir - and the 2006 is no different. Giscours' 2006 is more typically Margaux and less masculine than in recent vintages. It is extremely aromatic, ripe and savoury with floral hints, however, despite the fine-grained tannins its rich, dark fruit and hefty structure shows that it still has lot of guts and depth. This is quite a cerebral wine but its multi-layered personality makes it well worth the effort. Why not buy this and the Du Tertre and drink the latter while you wait for the former to mature!
Simon Staples - Fine Wine Director Asia

Quite brilliant! An incredibly seductive, inviting nose of ripe and cool Cabernet, leading to a spectacular, plump but defined, powerful yet precise mouthful of decadent and moreish black and red summer fruits. The tannins are so fine they are hardly apparent within the generosity of the fruit. The length is spectacular and this is one of the best buys; it is Second Growth in quality.
Simon Staples, Fine Wine Director

Ch. Giscours is one of the largest Margaux properties and now producing wine worthy of its Troisième Cru Classé status. Giscours was in a dire state when it was acquired by Nicholas Tari in 1952. He invested heavily and the quality of the wine improved beyond recognition. In 1995 he sold the property to Dutch businessman Eric Albada Jelgersma. Giscours produces richly aromatic wines that are surprisingly powerful on the palate, displaying ripe, black fruit with hints of cedar and new oak.

A difficult summer and September comprised the Merlot in 2002, but the Left Bank’s Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines enjoyed the Indian summer.  Reaching its peak now, this Giscours has charming notes of cedar and pencil lead, with a poised, elegant palate and finish.

Ch. Giscours is one of the largest Margaux properties and now producing wine worthy of its Troisième Cru Classé status. Giscours was in a dire state when it was acquired by Nicholas Tari in 1952. He invested heavily and the quality of the wine improved beyond recognition. In 1995 he sold the property to Dutch businessman Eric Albada Jelgersma. Giscours produces richly aromatic wines that are surprisingly powerful on the palate, displaying ripe, black fruit with hints of cedar and new oak.

In 2004 Giscours produced a restrained and precise example. Powerful yet sophisticated, densely fruited yet refined, this is one of the most masculine wines of the Margaux appellation. The 2004 vintage is seriously under-rated and it’s in a cool style, with elegant fruit and a structure which allows the terroir to shine through.

Ch. Giscours is one of the largest Margaux properties and now producing wine worthy of its Troisième Cru Classé status. Giscours was in a dire state when it was acquired by Nicholas Tari in 1952. He invested heavily and the quality of the wine improved beyond recognition. In 1995 he sold the property to Dutch businessman Eric Albada Jelgersma. Giscours produces richly aromatic wines that are surprisingly powerful on the palate, displaying ripe, black fruit with hints of cedar and new oak.

Giscours typically produces one of the most masculine wines of the Margaux appellation and one which normally requires a little patience. Defined by its rich, dark fruit, complex structure and wonderful, classic perfume, this elegant 2001 is nonetheless drinking beautifully now, yet will last another five years.

In 2004 Giscours has produced a restrained and precise example. Powerful yet sophisticated, densely fruited yet refined, this is one of the most masculine wines of the Margaux appellation. 2004 is a seriously under-rated vintage and it’s in a cool style, with elegant fruit and a structure which allows the terroir to shine through.

Presented in a wooden box

There are generous helpings of blackberries and cream on the palate here and they sit wonderfully alongside the elegant Margaux femininity. Fine tannins, crunchy black fruit and excellent length. There is a wonderfully tasty minerality, structure and texture, which is typical of this commune. Focused and direct, it is a real pleasure to taste this wine. This is a serious, grown-up Ch. Giscours. I love the precision and character. It is so representative of Margaux.

Blend: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot

A savoury style of rosé from Giscours this year. With a gloriously deep, rich colour and an intense nose of bell pepper, white currants and black cherry. The initial attack is fresh and pure, then the flavours broaden on the mid-palate, with clean red fruit and a long, creamy finish. Full of life, and with real depth and detail, this is a fabulous example made with top-notch fruit.
Philip Moulin, Fine Wine Buying Department

Wonderful, this is the best Giscours since 1970. A great waft of fruit on the nose is amply supported by a palate that epitomises the best of 2005 Bordeaux: it is full and rich yet is also very fresh with ripe but firm tannins and a lovely minerality. Making 25% less of the Grand Vin than in 2004, this is reminiscent of the 1990 vintage but is cleaner with better acidity. This is very classic, masculine and serious and makes an ideal counterpart to the more approachable Du Tertre. Once again, the Margaux terroir shines through here, with wonderful concentrated fruit and a structure that marks it out as a real vin de garde.

We normally find tasting Giscours at this stage a tad underwhelming to be honest, tending to buy large quantities (far more expensively I may add) when it’s singing, four to six years after the vintage. Not this year!!! Really generous without being pushed, intense and concentrated with an amazingly long finish, this could easily be their greatest vintage, and it actually surpasses the brilliant 2005. Fantastic.