Château Giscours En Primeur 2023

Following our morning session at Hangar 14, where we worked on getting a feel of the vintage and indication of style of the different regions for this peculiar vintage, we arrived at Château Giscours as our first Château visit and tasted the wines with Jérôme Poisson, technical manager.

The property, 100% owned by the Dutch Albada Jelgersma family, is 400 ha big where 160 ha are under vines. A unique Domaine with a large proportion of its land used for environmental biodiversity that includes a large forest with a river going through it, sheeps and more.

For Château Giscours, 2023 has been a demanding vintage by nature which embodies the strength and resilience of its terroir. This strength comes under two aspects; the high proportion of old vines and the low-intervention agronomic choices. The old vines are a central pillar due to their robustness and deep root system while the later comes focuses on soil management, selected cover crops and ultimate decision of not defoliating during the summer.

At harvest time, the work is done following the age of the vines per plot. An intense work meaning different passages in each plots in order to pick the fruit at the moment the vines have it ready following their age and types. A tremendous work which, in vintages such as 2023, pays off. Although harvest started on the 5^th September, they had to wait for the Cabernet Sauvignon.

As Alexander van Beek, General manager of the Château, would say, they once again produced sexy wines.

Haut-Medoc

56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc (10% new oak)
Vineyards lying just over the border of Margaux into the Haut-Medoc appellation, yet attached to the Margaux vineyards. Quite impressive how the divide is made. Here, we get a reflection of Margaux. An elegant fruit and juicy wine with a mix of red and black fruits expressed by a distinctive cassis tone and a long mineral finish.

La Sirène de Giscours

64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 12 % Petit Verdot. (30% new oak)
A more gastronomic style of wine through barrels selection, expressing itself more with its structure and the use of the old vines. Once again the minerality shines through with a balanced finish.

Château Giscours

71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 6 % Cabernet Franc (50% new oak)
This wine shows the magnificence of the Cabernet Sauvignon with deep ripe dark fruit character although a touch shy on the nose. The palate is complex, elegant, smooth, long all supported by a great tension and mineral finish.