VITICULTURE
Château Giscours maintains their oldest plots using interplanting. Young vines are selected and then planted among the old ones. Sustainable viticulture, striving for agroecologyAre you over 21 years old?
Château Giscours Margaux 2019
$85.00
Château Giscours Margaux 2019
$85.00
Margaux
2019
3rd Growth
65% Cabernet Sauvignon
35% Merlot
Region: Bordeaux
ESTATE HISTORY
The history of Château Giscours goes back to the 14th century, at which time an impressive keep protected the estate from potential attacks.
However, the true creation of the estate can be considered to date from the purchase of the “maison noble de Guyscoutz” by Pierre de Lhomme, a rich cloth merchant, in 1552. This marked the beginning of Château Giscours’ winegrowing tradition.
The estate underwent a golden age in the 19th century thanks to wealthy and influential owners such as the Promis, Pescatore, and Cruse families. This is also when Giscours underwent a number of important changes: the château was transformed into a neoclassic palace, the grounds were landscaped by Eugène Bülher, rare tree species were planted, and immense outbuildings were built, including the famous Ferme Suzanne…
In 1995, a Dutch businessman, Éric Albada Jelgersma, took over management and set about meticulously renovating the vineyard and buildings to make this prestigious estate fully worthy of its third growth ranking in the 1855 classification.
TERROIR
The exceptional terroir of Château Giscours is spread over 83 hectares of vines in the Margaux appellation. Moreover, various geological studies have revealed the highly qualitative origin of our terroir: an alluvial deposit of Garonne gravel, dating from the ancient quaternary, serves as the foundation of our vineyard. It is on these arid lands, eroded, formed of alluvial deposits, of Garonne gravels carried from the Pyrenees in the quaternary that were formed the reliefs called in Medoc “gravelly croups”. They allow the drainage of excess water and let the Cabernet Sauvignon, the dominant grape variety, find its most beautiful expression.
More than half of the vineyards are now cultivated using organic agriculture methods, a proportion that is increasing every year. At Giscours, soil and vine maintenance is constantly being rethought and improved.
WINEMAKING
Optical and manual sorting
Concrete and stainless steel tanks
Maceration 35 days at 28°C
Ageing in French barrels for 17 months
50% new oak
TASTING & FOOD PAIRINGS
The Merlot revealed different characteristics depending on the terroir and the harvest date. Some were juicy, fruity, and bursting with freshness, while others, with a more advanced degree of ripeness, presented a magnificent roundness and a much more voluptuous character.
The objective was to give to the Cabernet the desired three-dimentional character with structure, freshness and density. Very precise and well-balanced, the 2019 vintage gives full expression to the Château Giscours refined style.
95 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
"The 2019 Giscours has turned out very well in bottle, wafting from the glass with aromas of sweet berries, cherries, burning embers, lilac and violets framed by a discreet patina of new oak. Full-bodied, layered and concentrated, it's polished and perfumed, with a velvety, seamless profile and bright animating acids, concluding with a long, resonant finish. Alexandre Van Beek and his team are taking this estate to heights it hasn't hit since the 1970s, and this is another of the great bargains of the 2019 en primeur campaign. Best after 2029."
94 points Decanter
This is a serious Giscours, with medium intensity violet-edged ruby colour. High aromatics on the nose with cumin and cloves, followed by black cherry and cassis fruits that do a good job of filling the palate, and a cooling menthol finish as the tannins close in. Enjoyable overall, succulent yet with precision. Harvest lasted for an entire month, from September 11 to October 12, the longest ever at the estate and a reflection of more precise plot-by-plot work, with vines separated according to age and terroir.
Pairs well with bbq chicken, grilled meats, roasted potatoes and onions, grilled vegetables, rabbit, game, roasted lamb, cheeseburger, hard cow milk cheeses and French aged Comté.
*Please note the image is of a representative bottle. For pictures of the actual bottle please contact us.