Giscours 2022

With the 2022 Giscours, this estate takes another step up, delivering a deep and characterful wine redolent of cherries, dark berries, violets, peony and forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, broad shouldered and layered, it's deep and elegantly muscular, with impressive concentration, abundant but refined tannins and a structural authority reminiscent of the great Giscours vintages of the 1970s. Why is it so good? There are many reasons, but one is the high proportion of old vines—almost 60% of the blend deriving from vines that are over 50 years old—in a vintage that favored vines with deep, well-established root systems. Another is the increasing precision of harvesting at this address: Giscours's old vines are frequently co-planted with younger replacements that have filled any gaps in the ranks over the years; so, blocks are now picked in two or three passages instead of all at once, with the younger vines picked first.

The 2022 Giscours was picked between 1 and 29 September, one of the earliest ever, with no SO2 added until blending and using bio-protection (yeasts) to protect the must. It has a delightful and sensual bouquet with lifted, violet and peony-scented blueberry and black cherry fruit. This is very well-defined and perhaps the purest I have encountered from barrel. The palate is medium-bodied with a disarming silky texture, harmonious and focused. It's mineral-driven with a poised and pixelated finish. Certainly, this represents one of the best wines from this Margaux estate in recent years, echoing their golden period of the 60s and early 70s. Tasted twice with consistent notes. 2030-2070

This is a big move forward for Giscours. Full-bodied yet agile and fresh with tannins that are precise and integrated, with great beauty and length. Well-structured and vivid. Extremely fine yet defined tannins, and then it opens like a butterfly.

Deep ruby in the glass with a very peppery nose of forest fruit and damsons. The palate is ripe with a warming edge of cherry coulis. The fruit is plush, yet there is a grippy structure set against an oily core, the tannins giving a chewy mouthfeel. A good elevage will see these elements fall into harmony, pushing the score towards the top of this bracket. The raw ingredients are powerful and spicy, producing a long, heady finish.

A blend of 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, and 3% Cabernet Franc, the 2022 Giscours has a pH of 3.7 and 13.6% alcohol. It has a deep garnet-purple color and bursts with notes of baked black plums, warm cassis, and blackberry preserves, giving way to subtle suggestions of sassafras, roses, and Sichuan pepper. The delicately played medium-bodied palate is soft-spoken and refreshing, featured very fine, silt-like tannins and seamless freshness to frame the subtle red and black berry layers, finishing on a mineral note. If you love blockbusters, look elsewhere, this is all about grace. Note that no second wine (La Sirène de Giscours) was made in 2022 and the yield for Giscours was just 27 hl/ha.

Well judged and executed, with the vintage character coming through with the rich plum, cassis and fresh fig fruits, alongside black pepper and clove spices, but overall the feel is savoury, with austere tannins that are clearly revving up and have plenty of character. Impressive lift also, with juice running right through the palate, giving breath to the concentrated muscular tannic frame. Austerity also at this point, relatively rare and welcome in 2022, and emphasising a floral and smoky curl on the finish. 50% new oak. Entire harvest in the Grand Vin for the first time ever at Giscours (although I assume there must have been some of the production that was not bottled under the label). Axel Marchal consultant, Alexander Van Beek director.

64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 3% Cabernet Franc. Cask sample.
Deep purple. Neat, fresh, lively nose. A certain Margaux delicacy on the palate, plus the intensity of the vintage. No excess oak. Good balance suggests a wine with a good long life. A good Giscours with a definitively dry, tannic finish. 13.5%
Drink 2028– 2043