Giscours 2015

Generous and rich on the nose the start of the palate lighter perfumed with bilberry and bramble. Depth in the middle fleshy, silky and rich the ripe fruit backed by fine tannins. The back palate has depth and generosity yet the finish is lighter quite firm with mineral freshness.

This is a pretty, blushing Giscours with delicate floral notes and an attractive scent. I am very impressed because thesegue between the alluring perfume and the deeper thrum of fruit is very well-judged. At the back of the palate there isa luxurious, oak-soaked black cherry compote and this makes it a very successful wine from this oft-confusing property.

The 2015 Giscours simply towers above the preceding three vintages, perhaps a benchmark for the estate. Gorgeously pure red berry fruit, pressed flowers and light cedar scents pour from the glass, beautifully defined as the bouquet blossoms with aeration. The palate has exquisite balance, finely chiseled tannins, energy and tension with a peppery finish. It's everything the 2014 wanted to be…but this actually is. The 2015 needs another year or two in bottle, but it is a great Giscours. Drink 2025-2055. Tasted in October 2024.

The 2015 Giscours has a beautiful, clean, pure bouquet of generous ripe black cherry, raspberry and crushed violet aromas that could only come from Margaux. The medium-bodied palate is quite dense but wonderfully poised, offering sappy red fruit and very fine tannin and delivering impressive detail on the bay leaf and tea leaf finish. Alexandre van Beek oversaw one of the best Giscours in recent years. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.

The 2015 Giscours showed magnificently when I tasted it from barrel and I made allusions to the legendary 1961, which I have been fortunate to taste two or three times. I have no reason to change this view. It has a very refined bouquet that is almost understated at first, but then blossoms in the glass with copious blackberry, raspberry, flint and graphite aromas. The palate is very well balanced with great depth and real vibrancy. There is a slight chalkiness to the texture, extraordinarily fresh with superb mineral tension on the long finish. This is a great Giscours that will age beautifully over many years. Anticipated maturity: 2022 - 2060.

The 2015 Giscours is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. That is in stark comparison to older vintages, for example the 2000 Giscours that was 50/50 Cabernet and Merlot. This vintage is matured in 50% new oak. Winemaker Alexandre Van Beek told me that the 2015 "...reflects the true terroir at Giscours that created the great wines of the 1960s and 1970s." That is something to live up to with fresh memories of the 1961 in my brain. The bouquet is very intense and almost "untamed" at first, but it calms down in the glass, revealing attractive scents of blackberry, raspberry, cedar and graphite. This is a Giscours determined to make a good impression...and it does. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, very pure, a little spicier than recent vintages, adorned with a gentle crescendo in the mouth towards a really quite fantastic, tensile, complex and compelling finish. Having tasted the 1961 and 1970 Giscours just a few months ago, I wager that the 2015 will be the best since the 1961. Time to fall back in love with this great Margaux property. Drink 2025-2060.

This sets a new level for Giscours with blackberry, black truffle and blueberry. So much walnut and cedar. Full body, dense and incredibly long and powerful. Clearly the best Giscours since 1970 and 1975.

Perfumed, seductive nose. Rather salty and salivatory. A little bit chunky and earthbound but lots of pleasure is available here. A nice typical wine that expresses the charm of the vintage well.Drink 2023-2035

Dark crimson. Relatively light nose. Very luscious sweet fruit on the palate - a very winning wine with a medium charge of tannin. Just a little inky on the finish. But good and appetising.Drink 2023-2035