Chateau Giscours

A fraction paler than last year and lighter than one might expect of Bordeaux Rosé but this is very much fruit forward with spicy raspberry and strawberry flooding the palate. Generous in every sense.  Good acidity and so there’s plenty of freshness with some spice at the back of the palate.  Vibrant and easy to enjoy.  As ever I’m unshakeable in my belief that a wonderful Spring and Summer awaits, this 2016 will go down very well indeed.
Martyn Rolph, Private Account Sales Manager.

Much of the estate lying outside the commune and therefore providing a bit more backbone than most other Margaux is arguably a good thing in 2013. The 75% Cabernet Sauvignon provides Giscours with a deep intensity of crunchy blackberry fruits and energy few others have managed. A hit of beautifully sweet ripeness on the palate combined with fine, ripe tannins, gentle but balanced structure will give immense drinking pleasure in the next 5 to 15 years. An honest estate making the most of their terroir year in year out and a rare opportunity to have a quality Margaux on your table for less the £30 a bottle, difficult to say no! 
Jake Dean – Fine Wine Sales Director

A vibrant red colour, with redcurrant and blackberry on the nose, weaved with a touch of spice. 75% Cabernet Sauvignon gives a kick of cassis on the palate which flows neatly through the wine. Structure is very gentle and this should be approachable relatively early. Touch of toast on the finish. One of the successes in the Margaux appellation this year.
Fergus Stewart – Private Account Manager

There is a record amount of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend this year and it has helped to create a lovely expression of Ch. Giscours. There is a good balance, a touch of sweetness, ripe engaging fruit and superbly integrated tannins. 

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

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

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.

Giscours is a 3rd Classified Growth from the Margaux appellation, capable of producing wines with an exotic, port-like bouquet and lush texture on the palate. In 1995 the Dutch businessman Eric Albada Jelgersma acquired the chateau and invested vast sums to improve both the property and the wines produced. The estate is now scaling new heights. 1995 is a lovely, mature example of what it can do; a ripe, round claret from a superb vintage now reaching maturity.

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.

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.

This is a soft, medium-bodied, spicy, herbaceous Claret packed full of blackcurrant and cherry fruit.

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

The long, late harvest of 2008 resulted in such ripeness at Ch. Giscours that, for the first time since 1995, five percent Cabernet Franc was of high enough quality to be added to the blend (along with 65 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 30 percent Merlot).

Lower than normal yields have created a concentrated wine with a creamy blackcurrant palate, fine-grained tannins and spicy, oak complexity. Almost Burgundian in structure, there is a lovely roundness to this wine which is completed by an impressively long finish: a beautiful wine.

Probably the finest Giscours made since the 1975, this black/purple-colored 2000 offers up terrific notes of camphor, creosote, blackberry, and cassis jam intermixed with notions of smoke and earth. Spicy, with low acidity, a big, rich, fleshy, full-bodied palate, outstanding texture, and a long, pure finish, it is, to reiterate, one of the best Giscours produced over the last 25 years.
92/100 Robert Parker - Wine Advocate # 146