Winemaker Notes
Aged in high quality oak barrels, the wine acquires its complexity over a period of months, subtly combining aromas of dark fruit and spices with the tannins in the wood, to reach a sublime balance. The complex blending procedure, an important stage in the production of this great wine, requires the most advanced skills of the cellar master and their team. Ultimately, all the traditional qualities of a great Margaux are assembled: the finesse of the tannins, purity, a gentle, refined elegance, and a great length on the palate.
Professional Ratings
-
James Suckling
Aromas of mint and currants with hints of fresh herbs. Then turns to plum jam. Full body, with well-integrated tannins and pretty fruit. Long and caressing. This is really outstanding. Better in 2017.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Giscours shows an initial character of great style and elegance. The shining fruit and concentrated tannins follow, making it both a seductive wine and one with a long-term future.
Cellar Selection -
Wine Spectator
Features a lightly firm, singed alder frame around a core of dark plum, cherry and cassis bush notes. Taut tar and warm paving stone notes fill in on the finish. Shows serious, well-embedded grip, and the core of fruit is spot on. This has the range, length and cut for the cellar. Best from 2014 through 2030.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
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. Rating:92+
-
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2010 Château Giscours is beautiful stuff and has classic Margaux elegance and complexity as well as notable richness and depth. Offering notes of ripe black fruits, smoked earth, freshly sharpened pencils, and tobacco leaf, it's not massive, but it’s medium to full-bodied and has a focused, balanced mouthfeel, integrated oak, and outstanding length.
-
Vinous
Bright ruby-red. Cassis, blackberry and licorice pastille on the nose. Then sweet, juicy and energetic in the mouth, with complex flavors of plum, currant, cedar, tobacco and spices along with a gamey nuance. Firmly built but not hard. Finishes with serious but fine-grained tannins and a note of licorice. Still a bit strict today, this wine has the structure to repay aging. Rating: 90+
Château Giscours, a Grand Cru Classé, is one of the very few estates with vineyards planted in a single stretch, at the heart of an unspoiled ecosystem of 400 hectares of meadows and forest. The 100-hectare estate in the Margaux appellation boasts an ideal location on the magnificent Labarde and Arsac plateau.
Château Giscours, one of the oldest seigneuries in the Médoc, has reinvented itself constantly over the centuries. Pierre de Lhomme, Marc Promis, Jean-Pierre Pescatore, Edouard Cruse and Nicolas Tari were all ambitious and visionary estate owners who were passionate about pulling together the estate's land and giving this vineyard a reputation for excellence. These efforts were rewarded by the official classification in 1855, when Giscours was named a third Grand Cru Classé.
In 1995, a new chapter began with Dutch businessman Eric Albada Jelgersma, who oversaw a meticulous rehabilitation of the vineyards and buildings. It took a lengthy process, patience, and unfailing technical and commercial organization for Giscours to retain a strong identity and become the embodiment of a flourishing estate that has successfully transcended change.
Today, his children are following in their father's footsteps as they enable the estate to develop whilst also preserving its rich ecosystem.
This well-arranged land is a winemaker's dream. Deep Garonne gravel hilltops with slight variations give Giscours wines their structure and elegance. This exceptional terroir suits our vines, which offer up the best of themselves under the influence of the oceanic climate.
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
Silky, seductive and polished are the words that characterize the best wines from Margaux, the most inland appellation of the Médoc on the Left Bank of Bordeaux.
Margaux’s gravel soils are the thinnest of the Médoc, making them most penetrable by vine roots—some reaching down over 23 feet for water. The best sites are said to be on gentle outcrops, or croupes, where more gravel facilitates good drainage.
The Left Bank of Bordeaux subscribes to an arguably outdated method of classification but it is nonetheless important in regards to history of the area. In 1855 the finest chateaux were deemed on the basis of reputation and trading price—at that time. In 1855, Chateau Margaux achieved first growth status, yet it has been Chateau Palmer (officially third growth from the 1855 classification) that has consistently outperformed others throughout the 20th century.
Chateau Margaux in top vintages is capable of producing red Cabernet Sauvignon based wines described as pure, intense, spell-binding, refined and profound with flavors and aromas of black currant, violets, roses, orange peel, black tea and incense.
Other top producers worthy of noting include Chateau Rauzan-Ségla, Lascombes, Brane-Cantenac, and d’Issan, among others.
The best wines of Margaux combine a deep ruby color with a polished structure, concentration and an unrivaled elegance.