Château Giscours 1996

Aromas of black cherry and fresh mushroom. Medium-bodied, with some chocolate character, but a bit lean. Best after 2000. 29,000 cases made.

Bright ruby with some yellow at the rim. Light, sweet, rather ‘bloody’ nose. Losing fruit but with a bit of alcohol sweetness rather intruding on the finish. Drying out. Some cheesiness on the finish. (JR)

The 1996 Giscours is a vintage that I have not tasted for many years. It has an agreeable nose of dark berry fruit, leather and sous-bois, a little introspective perhaps, and missing a bit of éclat. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins. Like the 1995, this is a bit oaky and dried out the finish, making it less interesting than older or more recent vintages. I cannot see this going anywhere.

Fully developed, the wine is medium-bodied and loaded with tobacco, wet earth, forest floor and red pit fruits. On the palate, the wine is a bit old-school rustic with a bright red plum and cranberry edge, along with a touch of herbs and earth on the finish. There is no reason to hold this any longer.

Brightening purple, fine watery rim. Still restrained, slightly waxy bouquet, red cherries. Lots of creamy extract, red-currant sweetness, slim and graceful, noble, medium ageing potential.

97: Barrel sample (18/20): rich, ripe bouquet; for the first time in a Giscours, the nose shows not only red berries but also a touch of cassis and blackberry, giving it a multi-faceted aromatic palette, with a hint of dried herbs wafting through. Juicy, seamless palate, very well balanced; the fruit feels delicately jammy, lending plenty of sweetness to the extract; wild raspberries, marked astringency, noble woods on the long finish. The definitive proof of the renaissance at Giscours. 00: brightening purple, fine watery rim. Still restrained, slightly waxy bouquet, red cherries. Lots of creamy extract, red-currant sweetness; comes across slender and graceful, yet decidedly noble, medium ageing potential. (17/20). 13: now mature and quite attractive, but not at the level — despite a favorable vintage context — of the more recent vintages.

Spicy, animal, sweet bouquet with leather, plum, raisins, tobacco. Medium-bodied, soft palate with a slender structure and medium aromatics. Light finish. 17/20 drink - 2015

Attractive sweetness at almost 30 years old, with Left Bank personality, brambled dark fruits, cocoa bean and espresso. The best of the 1990s, this retains firm tannins, melted but confident, and maybe the first in the series where you can feel the slide towards a more modern Giscours. Tertiary notes of tobacco and smoked campfire, but this is in no hurry to go anywhere. One of the first things the Albada family did was to up Cabernet Sauvignon in the vineyards, back to what it was in the 1970s, and although this was early days, the percentage in the blend was already being increased. 50% new oak. Pascal Ribereau-Gayon consultant.

This understated wine shows a fluid, fresh, and supple character. Pleasant.

Dark red color. Intense. Nose of medium intensity. Spicy and fruity. Still discreet with aeration. Fruity. Soft attack developing into a juicy structure, with good concentration and very, very well balanced; the mid-palate is flavorful, and the whole, of medium length, is well balanced with some weakness on the finish. However, aeration improves it and makes it one of the best recent Giscours.

Giscours' 1996 is atypical for the vintage, being soft, forward, and open-knit, with an absence of tannin. The wine shows a dark ruby color and attractive berry fruit, but it is straightforward and easy-going. Drink it during its first decade of life.