Château Giscours is a winery and a wine estate in the Margaux wine appellation of the Bordeaux region, France, located in the commune of Labarde, about half of hour North of Bordeaux city.
The wines of Chateau Giscours were classified under Napoleon’s 1855 classification as Troisièmes Crus Classé (Third Growth), one of fourteen Third Growths in the Official Classification of the wine of Médoc.
The appellation of Margaux counts with 21 cru classés châteaux, more than any other in Bordeaux, more than Pauillac, Saint-Julien or Saint-Estèphe. Chateau Giscours is one of them, as is Château Margaux.
Read along and watch the many videos I have produced about Chateau Giscours. Learn below about its history, its vineyards and winemaking, its wines in review, and tasting notes.
Discover Château Giscours in 2 Minutes – Video
Château Giscours Wine Estate: Vineyards, Terroir, Grapes & Property
Château Giscours’ entire property covers a total surface area of 300 hectares (750 acres) split between woods, parks and vineyards.
The vineyards themselves take up 160 hectares (400 acres), one of the largest on the Left Bank, divided on two separate appellation areas:
- About 100 hectares are on the Margaux AOC/AOP appellation
- 60 hectares are located on the Haut-Médoc appellation area, just outside the Margaux appellation.
Giscours’ terroir, located on the communes of Labarde and Arsac, is composed of three gravel hilltops deposited by the Garonne river at the beginning the Quaternary era. The hilltops of Petit and Grand Poujeau, the highest points on the property, reach an altitude of 20 meters above sea level.
The mixture of gravels and clay is typical of Margaux. The gravel reflects the sun’s rays during the day heating up the grapes while at the same time accumulating heat that is returned to the atmosphere during the night maintaining a more stable temperature.
Yet, the climate here is largely influenced by the neighboring Atlantic Ocean with a nearly constant oceanic breeze making sure the fruits never burn or cook too much (except perhaps during intense heatwaves like in 2003).
The clay and limestone elements to the soil adds density and depth to the wine’s tannic structure and participate to the rare finesse found in Margaux and Giscours’ productions.
The vineyards are planted with the typical grape varieties forming a red Bordeaux blend:
- 60% Cabernet Sauvignon
- 32% Merlot
- 5% Cabernet Franc
- 3% Petit Verdot.
From 1995 onwards, and the restructuring of the vineyards with more focus on quality rather than quantity, Giscours has moved from being a Merlot-dominant estate and wine to a Cabernet Sauvignon-focused blend, typically containing 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot in the Grand Vin.
The vines average around 45 years of age although the more recent plantings and the vineyard restructuring means some vines are younger.
Giscours estate counts with very old vines as well, with some reaching 70 years of age, mostly Cabernet Sauvignon vines and some Merlot. When entering the property, one can see these Cabernet old vines, directly in front of the Chateau and somewhat welcoming visitors.
Vine density is high as is common with Grand Cru Classé estates who can afford to sustain such workforce-demanding plantings and need the quality and concentration it brings to the wines. Vine density averages 10,000 vines per hectare across the property, with the more recent plantings reaching the higher levels of density.
Giscours is involved in farming some of its vineyards using biodynamic techniques (about 20% but the percentage is steadily going up), like they do on a property they own in Tuscany (see Visiting Caiarossa, and Tasting & Reviewing the Wines).
Chateau Giscours: The Buildings
At the time of the first historical records mentioning Giscours, during the fourteenth century, it was ‘only’ a defensive medieval tower overlooking a wild and inhospitable region covered in wild woods and swamps.
The real beginning came in 1552 when Pierre de Lhomme, a wealthy Bordeaux draper, bought a nobleman’s house then called ‘Guyscoutz’. He proceeded to turn it into a vast estate and planted the first vines. Wine production was launched and each of the rich merchant’s successors made their own contribution to the building ensemble.
It was in the nineteenth century under the promise, Pescatore and Cruse families that Giscours gained much of its finery: the château was transformed into neoclassical palace.
Architect Eugene Bülher modernized the production facilities and supervised the construction of huge buildings, including the ‘Ferme Suzanne’, a farmhouse hosting livestock, blacksmith, and staff involved in the life of the property.
Chateau Giscours also counts in its gardens its own proprietary bred of rose flowers, of a beautiful pink and yellow color.
Winemaking at Château Giscours
Grape harvest at Chateau Giscours in Margaux is always 100% manual. Grapes are selected in the vineyard during harvest and sorted manually by large teams on long sorting tables.
While the vinification process is overall typical of the Bordeaux Grand Cru historical tradition, Giscours does use a piece of technology to sort grapes and remove unwanted material (pieces of stalks, leaves, dried berries, etc.). The winery was one of the first properties in the Medoc to adopt optical grape sorting equipment at their reception area.
Fermentations are run in stainless steel and concrete tanks. The winery buildings (called cuvier in French) are located just next to the Château.
On average, 80% of the malolactic fermentation (the second fermentation) is run in tanks, while the remainder (20%) happens in oak barrels adding smoothness to the blend, in particular for the En Primeur tastings.
After fermentation, Chateau Giscours wine is entirely aged in French oak barrels of the standard Bordeaux-type size (225 liters), with 50% new barrels each year for the first wine, the Grand Vin. Maturation in oak lasts for about 18 months on average with a slight variation depending on the vintage.
Photos of Chateau Giscours – Slideshow
Find below a slideshow of photos I took around Chateau Giscours’ property and winery.
The Wines of Château Giscours – Reviews & Tasting Notes
Château Giscours produces 4 different wines :
- Château Giscours itself, the Grand Vin or first wine.
- La Sirène de Giscours: the second label named after the estate’s emblem (the siren or mermaid), also a Margaux wine
- Le Haut-Médoc de Giscours Grande Réserve, a wine produced from the wines located just outside of the Margaux appellation, on the Haut-Médoc AOC/AOP area.
- A Cru Bourgeois wine: Château Duthil, the winery’s high-end Haut-Médoc wine made from a selection of the estate’s best vineyards in this appellation.
The best vintages of Château Giscours top wines include 2016, 2015, 2014, 2011, 2010, 2009 2008, 2005, 2000, 1995.
Review Videos of Château Giscours Wines
Written Reviews of Château Giscours Wines
2015 Château Giscours, Margaux
Score: 93+/100 points
2015 was considered the best vintage in Bordeaux after 2010, with very favorable growing conditions all along the season, warm and dry weather.
Overall Review Notes & Tasting Impressions
With a very deep and dense dark red wine color, you know you are looking at a concentrated example of Margaux, just through its appearance. The nose is still introvert being such a young and concentrated wine, it doesn’t let its full aromatic potential out so much yet. What comes through though is generously fruity with dark cherry, blackcurrant and blackberry jam. The oaky notes are there but perfectly well integrated and subtle.
The elegance and subtly of the Margaux expression, raspberry coulis, delicate fresh berries and long and complex layers of oaky, spicy notes.
A complete vintage, featuring a world of complexity and elegance we expect from a Grand Cru Classé, together with the power and density, the roundness and concentration of a great vintage.
Drinking window: 2025-2040
2012 Château Giscours, Margaux
Score: 90+/100 points
2012 was a very complicated growing season with late ripening and a cool weather all year long causing problems for ripening Cabernet Sauvignon properly. A heterogenous vintage in the Bordeaux region, with not all producers managing to make great wines.
Overall Review Notes & Tasting Impressions
The color is not overly dense-looking, while the nose features dominant notes of spices rather than fruit. Touches of fennel betray a little vegetal character to the aromatic profile, but deep dark spices like clove make for an interesting smelling experience, although not 100% open yet at this stage.
Tannins are relatively soft, but rougher than other vintages of Giscours, not as fine and refined. A mild dry wine, with decent complexity, and slightly edgy tannins feeling like the vintage was made from vineyards on sandier soil perhaps. The more obvious Merlot than for other vintage does balance out the whole well.
A vintage that is ready to drink now, so if you are looking for a Giscours ready to be enjoyed, this 2012 is a good choice. You can also let it mature further for another 5 to 10 years. Drink 2019-2025.
2011 Château Giscours, Margaux
Score: 91+/100 points
2011 vintage year in Bordeaux was described as heterogenous, with a an unusually hot spring, a damped and rainy summer, while the beginning of autumn, the harvest season known some better weather. Under these relatively difficult conditions, not all estates managed to produce excellent wine.
Overall Review Notes & Tasting Impressions
With a fairly dark red color with hints of orange hues betraying the wine’s 7 years old at the time of the tasting, the 2011 vintage is still very fresh and vibrant, a dominant of fresh ripe berries to the nose. It also smells spicy, a subtle chili-like heat, and delicate vanilla and smoky oak aromas.
The palate is surprisingly incredibly fine and elegant, with very soft and fine tannins. The wine speaks with a very mild expression, dry with a delicate acidity and silky tannins. Floral elements of violet, cherry flavors, with many layers of coffee and cocoa.
A very elegant typical 101 expression of a fine Margaux wine, soft, floral yet deep and complex.
A vintage that pays in a much higher league in terms of enjoyment that its score/rating shows, because it is a much more pleasing wine to drink than it is a big and powerful, concentrated wine.
A recommended vintage for sure…
2015 La Sirène de Giscours, Margaux
Score: 91/100 points
Overall Review Notes & Tasting Impressions
With a deep and dark color, 2015 vintage of Giscours’ Siren features intense notes of ripe blackberry and jammy raspberry. Dark chocolate and smoky wood make for a captivating aromatic profile. It smells and feels rich and ripe to smell at. The palate reveals a very smooth and silky texture on a round and generous body for a dry wine. A powerful typical Merlot expression of cherry flavors.
A bigger and denser wine this 2015 vintage is compared to the 2014 reviewed below, better for drinking now, but also a less typical expression of Margaux.
Drink now and within 5 years (2019-2024)
2014 La Sirène de Giscours, Margaux
Score: 90+/100 points
Overall Review Notes & Tasting Impressions
This is the second label of Chateau Giscours, made from the Margaux vineyards that didn’t not make to the top-quality batches for the vintage. The very best wines from Margaux in a given vintage are blended into the Grand Vin, the slightly lesser qualitative lots make the Siren of Giscours.
An opportunity to afford the style of the estate ($40-$50 retail) for a fraction of the price.
With quite a dark red color including purple hues, the nose is rather deep filled with dark coffee and clove aromas. Ripe blackberry, jammy blueberry, and ripe dark cherry. Fine and silky tannins make for a dense and fine silky structure. A dry wine with a round soft body, yet a nice acidic tension cutting through the middle and bringing the fruity flavors to life. Long and layered finish, wood ashes, clove and other savory spices. Ripe fruit, mild oak influence, elegance and solid balance.
A wine with a very typical expression of Margaux, a good buy for those in search of an affordable Margaux that delivers a clean and genuine expression of the appellation.
Drinking window: between 2020 and 2035.
2015 Le Haut-Médoc de Giscours Grande Réserve, Bordeaux
Score: 89/100 points
Overall Review Notes & Tasting Impressions
With a decent red color, the nose boats vibrant fruity notes of fresh raspberry, cassis and blackberry, as well as a typically French, slightly oaky and elegant spices. Clove and chocolate aromas. The palate is very dry with a salivating acidity and a juicy overall feel. The fruity red berry characters are dominant in the profile. Tannins are moderately dense, slightly edgy, and velvety. Licorice with a mild bitterness to the finish and more importantly the typical Médoc Cabernet signature ashy texture.
Le Haut-Médoc de Giscours retails around $30 in the US.
Drink window: between 2019 and 2030.
A History of Giscours, in Brief
The first written reference to Giscours dates back to the 14th century (1330) when the domain was a fortification surrounded by woods and swamps.
The first records mentioning Giscours as a vineyard property and a wine estate go back to 1552 when Seigneur de la Bastide sold it to Pierre de l’Horme.
The French Revolution (1989) saw the estate confiscated from the Saint-Simon family to be sold a few years later in 1793 to two Americans from Boston, John Gray and Jonathan Davis.
Prior to the French Revolution Giscours belonged to the Saint-Simon family before it was confiscated, and then bought by two Americans in 1793, John Gray and Jonathan Davis of Boston.
Followed many changes of ownership for Giscours, until the Conte de Pescatore acquired it in 1845, before hiring Pierre Skawinski to manage the estate in 1847.
From there Skawinski will become one of the great agriculturalists of Médoc in the 19th century, inventing a type of plough that bears his name and innovating in the fight against the mildew disease that had just been introduced from the Americas. Skawinski made of Giscours one of the most reputable third growths of the Bordeaux region.
In 1954 the estate was purchased by Nicolas Tari, formerly a large-scale winemaker in Algeria, who restored and enlarged the property, making it one of the most productive estates in the Médoc.
In 1976, the then-owner of the château and President of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux, Pierre Tari, was selected as one of 11 judges to take part in the “Judgment of Paris” wine competition.
In 1995, Château Giscours was acquired by Eric Albada Jelgersma who as going to invest time and money to bring back the property to its passed grandeur with the help of its instrumental Directing Manager Alexander Van Beek. Eric Albada Jelgersma passed away in 2018. Eric’s heritage will be carried on by his children, Dennis, Derk, and Valerie.
Visit or Stay at Chateau Giscours, Wine Tourism in Bordeaux
Chateau Giscours welcomes Margaux enthusiasts for winery tours and wine tasting, every day including Sundays from April to October. Booking/reservation must be made in advance.
Located in the Margaux appellation, 26 km from Bordeaux, the 19th-century castle also offers a bed & Breakfast guest house accommodation.
The rooms situated in the former horse stables near the chateau have views over the vineyards directly in front of the Chateau.