Giscours

2011

Wine Advocate 90: Tasted at the Château Giscours vertical, 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. Tasted June 2015.

James Suckling 92: This is so beautiful now. It's full-bodied with tight and compressed tannins and fruit. Long and intentional. Savory and juicy finish. Drink or hold.

Vinous 91: The 2011 Giscours is tighter on the nose than its peers and demanded more coaxing, blackberry and melted tar, graphite and hints of blood orange. Good complexity. The palate is taut and fresh, well defined with crisp, edgy tannins, graphite and tobacco towards the finish that has a Paulliac-like character. This is drinking well, better than two or three years ago, and should give a decade's worth of drinking pleasure. Tasted blind at the annual 10-Year-On tasting.

2014

Wine Advocate 92: 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.

James Suckling 92: This is so beautiful now. It's full-bodied with tight and compressed tannins and fruit. Long and intentional. Savory and juicy finish. Drink or hold

Vinous 92: The 2014 Giscours has a slightly muddled bouquet with tertiary/woodland scents infusing the broody black fruit, austere but attractive. With aeration it seems to find its groove and develop more clarity and detail. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, supple and focused. There is lovely balance and poise to this Giscours, with a tensile and precise finish that lingers long in the mouth. Excellent. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting.