CHÂTEAU GISCOURS

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! Drinking range: 2030 - 2063 Rating: 96-98 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (May 2024)

The grand vin is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 23% Merlot and 6% Cabernet Franc, picked at a yield of 31 hl/ha, modest for the vintage, with the majority of the crop going into the grand vin. A rather dark and perfumed nose, with dark red cherry and blackcurrant, showing some very interesting perfume, violets, fragrant leather and tobacco. The palate develops this rather nicely, holding on to that rather perfumed, floral, fruit-driven character, wrapping it in a lacy and elegant texture, with an undercurrent of tightly integrated tannins and modest texture of fruit. Deliciously composed and integrated, this finishes with a blanket of woven tannins, dry and sappy but poised, feeding into a fresh finish and good length. A fresh, charming, classically styled Giscours in this vintage with good potential. Tasted three times. The alcohol is about 13.5%. Rating: 93-95 Chris Kissack, www.thewinedoctor.com (Apr 2024)

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. Rating: 94-96 William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (Apr 2024)