Château Giscours 2023

Some clear Cabernet notes on the nose, herbal elements, blackcurrant leaf and cranberry fruit. Smells ripe and cool with gorgeous milk chocolate elements. Energy is the first thing that springs to mind. There’s power here but there’s precision and velvety tannins to this too which gives both structure and brightness. Excellent harmony, this has roundness and depth, not too lean, with crunchy and really present chalky, wet stone tannins. Cranberry and strawberry with blueberry. Still lean, it’s straight but finessed with long, lingering flavours. It’s not as soft and plush as Giscours can be, not as naturally sexy, it’s more serious, but there’s suaveness here. Excellent effort. 3.75pH. Ageing 50% new oak. 70% grand vin production.

The 2023 Giscours is a potent, brooding wine. Black cherry, plum, new leather, dried herbs, chocolate and gravel infuse the palate with notable depth and intensity. This has really shut down post-bottling. Giscours is usually much more charming in its youth. Today, the stress of a vintage marked by heat and low yields of just 30 hectoliters per hectare comes through in the wine's tannic profile and overall feel.

One of the better wines from the appellation kicks off with an aromatic display of flowers, smoke, truffle, blackberries, cherries, and forest leaves. Elegant, refined, and vibrant, there is a gorgeous sense of purity to the sweet, red berries with just a hint of cocoa that shows up at the end of the finish. The wine is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2028-2047.

Deep dark ruby, opaque core, purple reflections, brightening on the edge. Delicately tobacco-like, nougat, Black Forest berries, a hint of fresh figs, inviting bouquet. Juicy and elegant on the palate, candied violets, ripe plums, round tannins, full-bodied and persistent, good balance, some chocolate on the finish, good length, has certain ageing potential.

Delivers on its En Primeur promise: creamy but restrained, lovely black fruits, well judged and balanced, great momentum—blackberry, sage, cracked pepper, oyster shell. Great stuff, finesse and power. 31 hl/ha yields. Really delivers; this is great quality from director Alexander van Beek.

Score: 94–96. Like a summer field, warm grass, fresh hay and sun-warmed earth form a very bucolic bouquet, where a few small fruits (raspberry, red plum) add a touch of color. The palate is both precise and generous, at once vertical and rounded, with energizing fruit and velvety tannins, caressed like a rose petal. A finish marked by notes of aromatic herbs.

A lovely, straightforward nose—precise and fresh—nicely racy, with a very fine, precise grain that is airy and long. It shows breadth with a graphite edge. Beautiful intensity and depth. Notes of raspberry, fresh pepper and, more subtly, star anise mingle with touches of lily and violet, hints of blueberry and bilberry, and juicy roasted small berries (almost a discreet Mediterranean feel in the approach), along with a subtle near-sage note, sweet spices, toast, star anise and a very discreet hint of vanilla. The palate is beautifully silky, juicy, fleshy, airy and precise, all in balance, offering delicacy as well as a stretched, linear feel. A very lovely, delicate, supple, captivating / melodious touch. On the palate, the wine expresses notes of fleshy blackberry, pulpy/juicy blackcurrant and, more lightly, bright raspberry, alongside fine touches of fruit playing between roasted and fresh, fleshy/vibrant raspberry and blueberry, plus delicate hints of violet, nasturtium, crushed bilberry, liquorice, graphite, camphor, salinity and fresh toast. The tannins are ripe and nicely chalky. A harmonious, lovely wine with a remarkable "sense of detail". A subtle creamy note on the finish. Lovely persistence.

The raspberry aroma reveals Giscours, deep, with top fruit and floral notes; a creamy palate, silky tannins enveloping the fruit, balanced, with impressive length; a very successful Giscours.

An impressive wine led by Cabernet Sauvignon, this has ripe tannins and a spice and black currant flavor. The wine's structure shows well with a firm core and a black pepper aroma. The wine is developing in a stately fashion, ready to drink from 2029.

Sports red and black cherry compote fruit backed up by tobacco leaf and violet accents on the finish. Modest but charming. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2028. 15,000 cases made.

A very beautiful deep red with purplish highlights. The nose is moderately intense, with slightly lively fruit balanced by attractive oak. Delicate on the attack and nuanced on the mid-palate, with a slight drop in power, the wine finishes fragrant and of good length, with tannins that are present yet well-rounded.