Château Giscours 2016

This is on the darker side of the ledger, with well-melded black currant, blackberry and black cherry fruit, infused with brambly energy and allied to a graphite spine on the anise-tinged finish. Features a light woodsy echo at the very end, but there's plenty of flesh here. Best from 2022 through 2032. 34,667 cases made.

Concentrated autumnal fruit offers a hawthorny bramble of blackberry and bilberry. Big-framed, muscular tannins are joined by plenty of acidity – it’s very clearly built to last and confident in its ability to reward those with patience. Matured in 50% new oak. Axel Marchal and Valerie Lavigne consult.

This has attractive, glossy, ripe red-plum and licorice aromas with cedar, flowers and red berries, as well as a stony edge. A very fragrant, cabernet-driven nose. The palate has elegance and grace with sleek and charming, balanced style and a discreet tannin structure that holds the finish long and fresh. A blend of 81 per cent cabernet sauvignon and 19 per cent merlot. Try from 2023.

The 2016 Giscours is complex, aromatically intense and beguiling, with myriad layers of flavors that unfold with time in the glass. Black cherry, sage, leather, smoke and menthol add plenty of intrigue, but above all else, it is the wine’s balance and sense of harmony that make the deepest impression. Under the leadership of Alexander Van Beek and his team, Giscours has been on a roll over the last few years. The 2016 is another fine vintage.

Elegance, florality, and purity are the hallmarks of this gem. Medium-bodied, refined, fresh, and clean, the floral bouquet up front gets everything started the right way. The palate is lifted, pure, and energetic, yet also soft and refined, with more than ample layers of ripe, sweet currants, cherries, and plums on the finish. Drink from 2023–2045.

Youthful nose with herbal spiciness, fresh redcurrant, plum and discreet wood. Medium weight on the palate with a youthful tannic backbone, crushed red-berry notes with a fresh bite, discreet wood and a rather long, tight finish. Classic style needing time to open and soften.

The 2016 Château Giscours is fabulous, offering a beautiful, complex (and classic Margaux) bouquet of smoky tobacco, black currants, truffly earth, and spring flowers. Finesse-driven, medium-bodied, and seamless on the palate, it has ultra-fine tannins with no hard edges and is already drinking beautifully. Nevertheless, it will benefit from 3–4 years of bottle age and cruise for 20–25 years or more. The blend in 2016 is 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Merlot, and it’s well worth buying by the case.

Deep purple with violet highlights. Dense, fruit-spicy bouquet with elderberry, rosewood and Earl Grey notes. On the palate, powerful, with plenty of drive and a fine astringency; long finish with sloe juice and juniper. This year it’s a real powerhouse—less elegant than usual, but endowed with great reserves!

Kunz barrel sample 17: mineral, elegant, dense bouquet, blueberries, blackberries, black cherries, cedar, tobacco, Black Currant, flint. Balanced, tightly knit, elegant palate with powerful, sweet fruit, plenty of fine tannins, a creamy, finely muscled structure, diverse, intense aromatics, long, fresh finish.

Mineral, elegant, dense bouquet, blueberries, blackberries, black cherries, cedar, tobacco, Black Currant, flint. Balanced, tightly knit, elegant palate with powerful, sweet fruit, plenty of fine tannins, a creamy, finely muscled structure, diverse, intense aromatics, long, fresh finish. 19/20 2024 - 2040

Intense and concentrated, with high levels of Cabernet Sauvignon after frost impacted the Merlot – and you feel it – in these deeply textured dark berry fruits, with slate and mint leaf accents. Stately Left Bank in style, still a little closed, but with so much balance and hidden power. The tannic structure is inching open to show ripe cassis, black cherry and grilled spice. Not ready yet, but already confident in what it is going to become. Axel Marchal and Valerie Lavigne consultants, taking over from Denis Dubourdieu. 50% new oak for ageing, harvest from September 26 through to October 20.

2016 is a serious, broad, and well-ripened Giscours. A well-structured Margaux with silky tannins.

Intense red fruit, floral. Broad, indulgent palate, fresh, generous tannins, long finish, enveloping, silky wine. A fine success.

Giscours 2016 behaves like many of the 2016s… It sets the tone, while making it clear it’s only at the very beginning of its journey. That doesn’t stop it from revealing its true nature, ideally championed by the freshness and fruity expression of Cabernet Sauvignon. Giscours also stands out for the power and precision of its tannins. They have a fine texture and are perfectly aligned with the acidic framework. The result is a powerful, fresh, and assertive wine. With this vintage, Giscours reminds us that it’s part of the Margaux elite. And it also reminds me that wine is alive, that it needs to be tasted, and that we must not only be willing to question ourselves but also know how to wait! Without delving into philosophical debates, patience remains a truly fine virtue!

The nose is elegant and offers indulgence. It reveals notes of ripe blackcurrant, wild strawberry and, more subtly, small wild berries, combined with hints of spice, fine touches of toasty notes, chocolate/vanilla, flowers, as well as very discreet nuances of grey pepper (in the background). The palate is fruity, juicy, mineral and offers lovely minerality/freshness, a fine tangy backbone, good definition, smoothness, flesh, tension, good structure and a fine, lovely grain. On the palate, the wine expresses notes of fleshy/juicy blackberry and fleshy/juicy wild strawberry, combined with small notes of raspberry, as well as small floral touches, tonka bean, cedarwood and discreet hints of spices (in the background). The tannins are fine and very subtly firm. Good length. Presence of touches of chocolate/cocoa bean and juicy fruit on the finish.

Dark, intense, beautiful, and youthful color. Highly aromatic nose—delicate, fruity, complex, and even noble. Delicate on entry, precise through the mid-palate, with a refined tannic texture; the wine tightens and gains in beauty on the finish, offering fine grain and sophisticated aromas reminiscent of red and white fruits. Very long finish. A distinctive and truly beautiful style! Blend: 81% cabernet sauvignon, 19% merlot.

This nearly 200-acre estate lies in the south of the Margaux appellation. The wine is another great success in a series of superb years. It is rich but the structure and finely textured fruit give it style and longevity. Drink the wine from 2026.