Château Giscours 2009

The finest Giscours of my professional career (I said the same from barrel), this dense purple wine has a stunning nose of burning embers, charcoal, crème de cassis, new saddle leather, and damp forest-floor notes. It is full-bodied, with exceptionally sweet, well-integrated tannins and a multi-dimensional, almost skyscraper-like mid-palate and finish. With its low acidity and remarkable substance and depth, this gorgeous wine should age beautifully for 20–30 years.

This is alluring, with lots of incense, warm espresso and roasted mesquite notes leading the way for a sleek core of mouthwatering black currant and blackberry fruit. The long finish lets the mesquite edge linger, with well-embedded grip. Rock-solid. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2014 through 2029. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 21,665 cases made.

Silky and rich, this showcases black cherry with gourmet touches and swirls of black pepper and rosemary. There's certainly an exotic edge here, with the natural drawing in of its Médoc tannins and a highly enjoyable mouthwatering finish. It's a good Giscours with clear personality, focus and balance. Decant if drinking it in the next five years.

This powerful, yet well-structured Margaux has a lot of positive cabernet sauvignon character (cassis, ripe plum) for the appellation. Long, very clean, positive finish. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019)

Round and polished, a pleasant drink, but clearly simpler than most of the wines in this collection of 2009 Bordeaux. (JR)

The 2009 Giscours has almost exactly the same nose as the last bottles, with hints of curry leaf infusing the black fruit. It still leans a little towards Saint-Julien in style, maybe with some Brettanomyces. Quite classic in style, the palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins and graphite-infused black fruit. It's taut and fresh with a persistent finish. Excellent.

Currants, cedar, tobacco leaves, smoke, flowers, and spice aromatics open up the wine. On the palate, the wine is fresh, vibrant, silky, and shows a nice spicy touch to the ripe plums and currants that carries all the way through to the finish. This is a pleasure to taste now, and will only get better with a few more years of age. Drink from 2022-2040.

Dark ruby red with purple hues, subtle brightening on the rim. Nuances of orange zest, ripe plums, sweet blackberry confit. Juicy, sweet and round, ripe tannins, a lovely acidity, fine nougat on the finish, a subtle minerality, already well developed, a multi-faceted food companion, at maturity and drinking well.

Perfumed and floral, with fresh raspberry, fine spices and aromatic herbs; soft, supple texture with generous fruit, freshly crushed berries, fine spices and good persistence; elegant and very pleasing to drink, great finesse.

Dark garnet. Delicate, aromatic bouquet showing fruity as well as finely floral notes. On the palate, a substantial extract, mulberries and raspberries, the finest tannins. An almost somewhat discreet Giscours, whose class lies in its finesse.

Dark garnet, fairly dense at the core, ruby rim. Delicate, aromatic bouquet showing both fruit and fine floral notes. On the palate, the finest tannins, a concentrated texture, mulberries and raspberries. A Giscours that is almost a touch discreet, showing its class through finesse.

Vegetal, spicy, closed bouquet with green herbs, tobacco and fine woods. Silky, sweet, spicy and powerful palate with pronounced spicy aromatics, dense structure, fine tannins, and a long, fragrant finish. 18/20 2016 - 2040

The rich texture is visually clear with its inky plum colour, and there is plenty of ripe damson and black cherry fruit on the attack. Bitter chocolate and smoked turmeric add opulence, although the tannins remain tight and the finish is a little abrupt. Less suave than many 2009s right now, although with clear underlying power. First year with Denis Dubourdieu as consultant, 50% new oak for ageing. Harvest from September 22 to October 13.

A complete, flavorful Giscours, with a palate that retains wonderful freshness and a sense of precision. Complete and flavorful. Very sleek, with a precise finish, it will age beautifully.

Dense attack, superb mid-palate, depth, lovely oak, long finish.

Dark, intense color. Fruity, subtle, meaty and fresh nose. Lovely, well-built attack on the palate. The wine then unfolds with savory, aromatic depth, both slender and supple, rich in flavor, with velvety tannins and a finish marked by fine aromas. It lingers with a beautiful grain of tannin. Age will bring a touch more roundness.

94-96 Barrel sample. Full of blackcurrant fruits, ripe and sweet tannins and forward fruit. The wine feels polished, ripe, smooth.