Château Giscours 2018

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Giscours opens with fragrant notions of kirsch, black cherry compote and blackcurrant pastilles with suggestions of dried lavender, cinnamon stick and mossy tree bark. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers a good amount of red and black fruit flavors with compelling purity, framed by soft tannins and well-balanced freshness, finishing with a spicy lift.

Very expressive, with violet and lilac notes followed by creamed plum and mulled blackberry and black currant fruit flavors. Subtle anise, juniper and sanguine notes thread the very long finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2024 through 2036.

Brushed damson, fine but firm tannins, plenty of deep dark fruit and powerful oak that slightly detracts from appellation typicity. This is confident and high-quality but needs a lot of time in bottle.

Black currant, dried-blueberry, oyster-shell, black-olive, black truffle, and bitter-chocolate aromas. It’s full-bodied with firm, fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity. Savory and mineral layers interplay with the black fruit. Powerful and chewy yet very polished and beautiful. Try from 2024.

55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot; 50% new oak. New winemaker Lorenzo Pasquini likens Giscours to an oil painting and du Tertre to a watercolour. Barrel sample. Inky core. Dark and introverted but beckons you in to find out more. Soberly seductive. A dark, savoury charm, a smooth but compact texture. Gravelly like its site. Not obvious and in your face, but refined in its power. Opens up to dark perfume. Most elegant vintage of Giscours I have tasted. (JH)

Floral in nature, you find a sweetness and purity in the deep red fruits along with the violet bouquet that quickly grabs your interest. The wine is rich, sensuous, silky, sexy and lively. Concentrated with width, length and energy, the elegant, lushly textured finish feels just great on your palate. This should age for at least 3 decades, though it will start to shine in 8-10 years. The wine was produced blending 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot.

Dark ruby, purple reflections, subtle brightening at the rim. Ripe fig and plum with candied purple fruit, black cherry compote, subtle touch of fine oak, tobacco notes. Juicy, elegant, fruity, ripe sweet cherry, fine, well-integrated, supporting tannins, mineral and persistent, very good length, definite great future ageing potential. (2025-2050)

Lots of ripe black cherry and cassis fruits as well as graphite, lead pencil, and scorched earth notes emerge from the 2018 Château Giscours, a medium-bodied Margaux that has a fresh, focused texture, plenty of underlying structure, and the purity of fruit that’s the hallmark of the vintage. This beautiful Margaux builds nicely with time in the glass, and while it plays on the more elegant side of the spectrum, it has terrific mid-palate depth, stunning balance, and outstanding length. I think the 2019 might ultimately surpass it, but it’s certainly in the same ballpark as the 2016. Give bottles 3–5 years and enjoy over the following 20 years or more.

Deep purple with a ruby rim. What a beguiling bouquet of ripe wild berries, licorice, and blueberry jelly. On the second nose, perfumed pipe tobacco and dried rosemary. On the powerful palate, silky texture and a tightly knit tannic frame, carried by perfectly balanced drive, with dark terroir spice. In the catapult-like finish, a full basket of blue and black berries, graphite traces, and regal astringency. Top performance by Alexander van Beek.

Kunz Barrel Sample 19: Elegant, fresh, powerful bouquet, strawberries, blueberries, blackcurrant, fine roasted notes, nougat, liquorice. Densely knit, elegant, fresh palate with powerful, delicate fruit, diverse, sweet aromatics, finely creamy structure, plenty of good tannin, very long, aromatic finish with sweet afterflavours.

Elegant, fresh, powerful bouquet: strawberry, blueberry, cassis, fine toasted notes, nougat, licorice. Densely interwoven, elegant, fresh palate with powerful, precise fruit, varied, sweet aromatics, finely creamy structure, plenty of fine tannin, very long, aromatic finish with sweet echoes. 19/20 2026 - 2055

Clear from the depth of colour and rich texture that this was a hot year, and you find a gourmet expression of Giscours, with dark chocolate, blueberry, damson, pomegranate, great quality, still young with muscular tannins, and it needs a few more years in bottle. Loved this En Primeur and happy to check in on it now. Harvest spread over a full month, from September 12 to October 12. Aged in 50% new oak, Valérie Lavigne and Axel Marchal consultants, Didier Foret technical director.

The 2018 Giscours has a deep garnet-purple color. It offers open-knit notes of prunes and fruitcake, plus hints of Indian spices, incense, and camphor, with a touch of dusty soil. Full-bodied, the palate is rich and spicy, with chewy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing with a peppery kick.

A Giscours with a dark color, intense and ripe on the nose. The palate is tight yet very energetic, with the wine asserting its power at first, then finishing on velvety tannins.

Initially shy, the wine slowly opens up with notes of raspberry and green pepper. The subtle palate benefits from a flattering texture and expresses itself with elegant restraint.

Giscours 2018 first reveals freshness with notes of eucalyptus, followed by hints of licorice and then red berries. On the palate, the wine shows breadth and vigor. Lovely fruity intensity from the very first attack. This presence is omnipresent right through to the finish. Persistent finish. A wine that will need time.

Dark, intense, and beautiful color. Very aromatic nose, refined, fruity, yet also pure (that’s new) and complex. The attack is supple and soft. The wine unfolds very fruity, flavorful, juicy, and perfumed, with fine tannins. Very charming, it finishes impossible to spit out. The gourmands will taste it right away. Blend: 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot.

95–97. Barrel Sample. This is a powerful wine with a great future that displays a rich, juicy blackberry flavor and ripe tannins. It is well-structured and generous in fruit, yet well balanced and shows promise for the future.