2001 Château Giscours
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Tasting notes
The 2001 Giscours has a far superior bouquet to the 2000, with black cherries, iris flower, crushed stone and light graphite scents. There is much better delineation and more vigour than the previous vintages. The palate is very well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, pliant in the mouth, with a judicious touch of white pepper towards the finish that lingers. Drinking beautifully.
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Wine Spectator
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
Vibrant and finessed, a real reminder that the best Bordeaux ages slowly and keeps delivering. Understated, with a creamy texture that suggests beautifully ripe fruits and well defined tannins, delivers grip and length, cassis, mint leaf, and a seductive charm, draws you in and keeps you engaged. 50% new oak, harvest September 28 to October 12. Jacques Boissenot consultant.
The 2001 Giscours has slightly more Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend than the 2000 (5% more, to be precise). The bouquet has always had greater delineation and precision than the previous vintage, offering black cherries, Dorset plum, iris petal and hints of lavender. This is very focused and seems to have lost none of its vigor. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, fleshier than the 2000, lightly spiced with a dash of white pepper, and poised and persistent on the finish. This Giscours is one of the gems of the appellation and is probably à point .
Tasted at the Château Giscours vertical, the 2001 Château Giscours is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot picked between September 28 and October 12. Comparing it directly with the 2000, I discerned a little more precision on the nose, the fruit a little fresher with lifted mulberry, violet and lavender scents. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp acidity, more tensile than the 2000, if not quite the same level of fruit concentration. It is not plump like the previous vintage, though there is fine animation here with a vein of spiciness surfacing towards the finish. This constitutes one of the finest Giscours in recent years, a Margaux with breeding and poise. In retrospect, this was the beginning of a turnaround in fortunes after an inconsistent period throughout the 1990s. Tasted June 2015.
About the producer
Ch. Giscours is a Third Growth estate situated in the Médoc appellation of Margaux. With a long and somewhat chequered history, the estate has seen an impressive rise in quality since the early 2000s and is only getting better.