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This was a joy to taste. A couple of years ago I had a small concern when I last tasted it, the wine had closed down and I wondered how it might evolve. Last night all my confidence returned! Full of dark strong raisiny fruits, this has succulence and class. There is a noticeable degree of tannic structure, but the wine remains vibrant and fresh throughout the palate providing length and flavour on the finish.
This was a joy to taste. A couple of years ago I had a small concern when I last tasted it, the wine had closed down and I wondered how it might evolve. Last night all my confidence returned! Full of dark strong raisiny fruits, this has succulence and class. There is a noticeable degree of tannic structure, but the wine remains vibrant and fresh throughout the palate providing length and flavour on the finish.
The 2005 will give previous vintages a run for their money. Dark and brooding with chocolate and black currant flavours, it is deep and pensive - more St. Julien in style than Margaux. A wine that the Wine Spectator suggests may be their "best ever". Drink 2011 - 2025+.
Tasted at the Château Giscours vertical, the 2005 Château Giscours is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Merlot picked between September 22 and October 6. Conspicuously deep in color, both the aromatics and palate replicate the strong performance from earlier this year. The bouquet offers very fine intensity with blackberry and cedar, here a tinge of cassis that becomes accentuated with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, slightly grainy tannin. It is very well balanced and almost Saint Julien in style. It is clearly very focused with a sustained, mineral-rich finish that (as I said before) contains real energy. This is an excellent Giscours that will age nicely over the next 20-25 years. Tasted June 2015.
The 2005 Giscours captures all the natural radiance of the year in its stylish, racy personality. Sweet tannins wrap around a core of sweet red berry fruit, kirsch, rose petal, mint, spice and blood orange. Soft, curvy and sensual, Giscours is a winner in 2005. It doesn't quite offer the grandeur of the very finest Left Bank 2005s, but it has plenty of that richness. 2021-2030
The 2005 Giscours is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot and the rest tiny dollops of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot from this huge estate. It has loads of blue, red and black fruits, licorice, spice, a touch of background oak and earth. It is medium to full-bodied, offering up sweet, velvety tannins and impressive purity and length. This wine is already showing quite well and should continue to evolve gracefully for another 12-15+ years.
This forward-styled 2005 possesses a dense ruby/purple color in addition to a big, sweet bouquet of roasted herbs, fudge, espresso, figs, and cherry jam. Opulent, even decadent, with low acidity, but high glycerin and fruit extract as well as a flamboyant fleshiness, this is a stunningly impressive, hedonistic, savory Margaux to enjoy between 2010-2025.
Giscours has been on a hot streak, fashioning full-bodied, powerful wines. The forward 2005 reveals notes of chocolate, sweet cherries, plums, figs, and dried herbs in its opulent, corpulent personality. With decent acidity, huge glycerin and concentration, and a long, fleshy, heady finish, it possesses an in-your-face, flamboyant style that is somewhat out of character for the vintage. It is an impressive, challenging, hedonistic as well as intellectually satisfying claret that should drink well reasonably young. Anticipated maturity: 2011-2025.
A full-bodied, powerful Giscours, the 2005 displays a deep ruby/purple color as well as sweet aromas of red and black fruits intermixed with loamy soil, dried herbs, and a hint of pain grille. Good acidity, a plump, corpulent attack and mouthfeel, medium to full body, superb depth of fruit, plenty of glycerin (it must approach 14% alcohol), and a lusty finish suggest this beauty will be approachable young. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2022.
Tasted blind. Complex, refined, well-integrated bouquet. Fully evolved and a bit leathery on the end. Not for technopurists but a fair drink for now. Pinched finish. Drink 2014-2025
Very dark - distinctly blackish tinge. Sweet, brutal, almost New World wine on the nose. This is sumptuous - Napa sur Gironde - and very cleverly made. There is freshness and extraordinary immediacy. Utterly seductive. Smooth and transparent. Silky textured. It has enormous ripeness but freshness too. As you can tell from the note, I'm a bit alarmed by the nose but the palate and balance will win many drinkers over. Perhaps the lack of persistence is a bit of a worry though? Drink 2014-26.
Very big and juicy, with fabulous berry, chocolate and currant character. Full and round. Long. This could be the best Giscours of all time.
Plump, silky and seductive are the words often used to describe wines from Margaux. Because of their style, they tend to be user friendly and more approachable when young. This is in part due to its terroir which is comprised of the thinnest soil as well as the highest proportion of chunky gravel in all of the Médoc. It drains well but also is it more susceptible to vintage variation. Margaux wines tend to have the highest proportions of Merlot within the core of the Médoc further adding to their ample roundness and openness. Margaux is home to the largest number of classified growths including its namesake first growth, Château Margaux, as well as third growths, Palmer and d'Issan.
