CHATEAU GISCOURS 3eme Grand Cru Classe, Margaux 2023 Bottle

Description

IN BRIEF
Château Giscours 2023 opens with poised intensity: blackcurrant, Morello cherry and bramble, with violet, rose petal, graphite and cedar spice. Air reveals tobacco, cigar box and wild herbs. Medium–full-bodied, it has a silky entry, taut acidity and fine-grained tannins that give structure without weight. Pure dark-berry and bilberry fruit is framed by savoury black olive and hint of liquorice; mid-palate unfurls baking spice, bitter chocolate and a mineral seam that drives the finish. Oak is measured and supportive. Texture is polished, balancing finesse and grip, finishing saline with a floral echo and nervy terroir clarity. Drink now, decant or cellar 10–15 years. Serve 16–18°C with lamb or mature cheeses. Top scores: Vinous 96–98; James Suckling 96–97; The Wine Advocate 94–96.

ABOUT THIS WINE
Château Giscours 3ème Grand Cru Classé, Margaux 2023 opens with poised intensity and classic Margaux elegance, presenting a compelling interplay of ripe fruit and floral lift. The bouquet offers blackcurrant, Morello cherry and bramble berry, with pressed violet and rose petal weaving through graphite and cedary spice, while a subtle tobacco leaf and cigar box note add complexity with air. Secondary aromas of wild herbs, crushed fennel and a hint of bay leaf emerge on aeration, framing a refined perfume.

On the palate the 2023 is medium to full, delivering a silky entry and lively, bright acidity that keeps the profile lifted and energetic. Primary fruit remains pure and focused, dark berry and bilberry notes combining with savoury black olive and a delicate thread of liquorice. The mid palate develops with fine grain tannins that provide structure without weight, supporting layers of baking spice, bitter chocolate and a mineral seam that gives drive to the architecture. Oak is measured and supportive, offering toast and gentle vanilla that accentuate rather than mask the fruit core.

Texture is polished and seamless, balancing finesse and grip, the wine unfolding with a persistent saline finish and a floral echo that lingers. There is an underlying thread of ironstone and graphite that adds terroir clarity and a nervous energy to the close. Drink now for immediate charm, decanting to reveal the wine s expressive layers, or cellar for 10 to 15 years to allow tertiary notes of leather, truffle and forest floor to develop and knit with the fruit.

Serve at 16 to 18°C with roast lamb, beef en croûte, venison or mature cheeses to complement its aromatic complexity and savoury depth. Château Giscours 2023 is a refined Margaux, confident yet graceful, offering both immediate pleasure and the promise of rewarding evolution.

VINOUS 96-98 points
The 2023 Giscours is the very best wine I have ever tasted here. Giscours has been knocking on the door of Bordeaux's elite for a few years now. Two thousand twenty-three is the year in which Giscours joins the region's big boys and girls. A towering, majestic Margaux, the 2023 dazzles from start to finish. What a wine! - Antonio Galloni

JAMES SUCKLING ***** Score: 96-97 Points
12 Apr, 2024 – This really expands in the mouth, with tight tannins that are polished and velvety. The fruit shows depth and purity. Medium to full body. Juicy center-palate. Like the ripe fruit in the center palate. The quality of the tannins in this rises to a new level. The tannins pull you through the wine. 71% cabernet sauvignon, 7% cabernet franc and the rest merlot.

THE WINE ADVOCATE (94-96) points
Reviewed by: William Kelley
The 2023 Giscours is one of the real successes of the vintage, unwinding in the glass with aromas of dark berries, cherries and red fruits mingled with hints of undergrowth, violets and licorice. Medium to full-bodied, deep and layered, it's seamless and concentrated, with a fleshy core of fruit framed by ripe, powdery tannins and succulent acids, concluding with a long, broad finish. It's a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc.

Now fully in the control of the Albada family, Château Giscours is at last about to construct a new winery, which should be operational for the 2027 vintage. The first new plantings using the estate's proprietary massal selections are also taking place. So, evolutions at this dynamic Margaux property continue to be fast-paced. In 2023, temperature lows were classic (aided, no doubt, by the large lake that serves as a kind of natural air conditioner at the heart of the estate's vineyards), even if highs were well above average. The team dared to wait for full maturity of their Cabernet Sauvignon, harvesting in multiple passages through each parcel according to vine age, as is now the norm at this address, to produce a wine of real character and plenitude that's a worthy follow-up to the terrific 2022.

DECANTER 95 points
Tasted by: Georgina Hindle (at Bordeaux, 10 Apr 2024) Part of Best Margaux 2023 wines tasted en primeur
Drinking Window: 2030 - 2049
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.

JANE ANSON 95 points

-----

ABOUT CHATEAU GISCOURS
Château Giscours, a 3ème Grand Cru Classé from the 1855 classification, is a historic Margaux estate where heritage and modernity converge to produce wines of poise and longevity. Set within expansive parkland on the gravelly rises typical of Margaux, the property benefits from excellent drainage and a temperate, maritime influenced climate that favours Cabernet Sauvignon while allowing Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot to contribute complexity and aromatic breadth. The vineyards are managed parcel by parcel, with attention to rootstock, vine age and soil variation, yields are controlled to ensure concentration and clarity of expression, and sustainable practices underpin both vineyard health and fruit quality.

In the winery, traditional savoir faire is combined with contemporary precision. Grapes are subject to meticulous sorting before fermentation in temperature controlled vats, where careful maceration regimes extract balanced tannin and flavour. After fermentation, élevage takes place in French oak, a proportion of which is new each vintage to provide structure and subtle spice without overwhelming varietal purity. The estate’s historic cellars and restored château set the scene for winemaking that respects lineage while embracing technological improvements aimed at consistency and finesse.

The Grand Vin of Giscours typically displays Margaux’s signature perfume, lifted floral notes, red and black berry fruit and delicate spice, framed by a supple refined tannic structure that allows the wine to evolve gracefully over years. Secondary cuvées and occasional single parcel selections offer earlier approachability while reflecting the estate’s stylistic emphasis on elegance and balance. Over recent decades, investment in vine replanting, clonal selection and sorting facilities has sharpened the estate’s quality profile, reinforcing its reputation among the Médoc’s established names.

Beyond the bottle, Château Giscours presents a cultivated estate experience, its parkland, historic architecture and cellars speak to continuity and stewardship. Attentive to terroir, respectful of tradition and committed to measured innovation, Giscours continues to articulate Margaux’s refined character, producing wines that marry aromatic finesse with the structural depth and ageing potential expected of a classified growth.