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Château Giscours, Margaux 2012

Red Wine from France - Bordeaux

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Seductively textured and rich, but fresh on the finish, this blend of 69% cabernet sauvignon, 27% merlot and 4% cabernet franc represents one of the most attractive wines in the 2012 Margaux vintage.

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Code: CM17051

Wine characteristics

Red Wine
Medium-bodied
Cabernet Merlot
75cl
Now to 2026
13.5% Alcohol
oak used but not v. noticeable
Cork, natural

Cru Classe Medoc, Graves

The original and most famous wine classification came about when the organisers of the 1855 Universal Exposition of Paris wanted, naturally enough, to show the finest wines of the Bordeaux region. Brokers dealing in the wines got together and produced two classifications of the best red and sweet wines respectively, based on the selling price of the wines at that time. The list was produced very soon after a request for it from the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce was made, strongly suggesting that there was an â€˜unofficialâ€™ hierarchy already well known to the brokers.

These Grand Cru Classé wines were ranked in five tiers and, apart from the famous promotion of Château Mouton Rothschild in 1973 and the addition of Château Cantemerle to the fourth growths soon after the classification was established, they have remained unchanged ever since. Effectively, they represent what should be the best wines of the Médoc with the one interloper, Château Haut-Brion from Pessac-Léognan in the...

The original and most famous wine classification came about when the organisers of the 1855 Universal Exposition of Paris wanted, naturally enough, to show the finest wines of the Bordeaux region. Brokers dealing in the wines got together and produced two classifications of the best red and sweet wines respectively, based on the selling price of the wines at that time. The list was produced very soon after a request for it from the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce was made, strongly suggesting that there was an â€˜unofficialâ€™ hierarchy already well known to the brokers.

These Grand Cru Classé wines were ranked in five tiers and, apart from the famous promotion of Château Mouton Rothschild in 1973 and the addition of Château Cantemerle to the fourth growths soon after the classification was established, they have remained unchanged ever since. Effectively, they represent what should be the best wines of the Médoc with the one interloper, Château Haut-Brion from Pessac-Léognan in the Graves region.

The wines of the right bank, such as Saint-Emilion and Pomerol were not included because their selling price was not as high at that time. Five first growths sit at the head of 62 properties, all of them from the Médoc except for Château Haut-Brion in Pessac-Léognan.

Naturally enough, there have been many unofficial revisions made over the years, with expert opinions brought to bear on what promotions and demotions might have been over the years, but none of these musings, no matter how reflective of changing standards and prices they might be, will change the stratification as it stands.

The classification is as follows:
First Growths (Premiers Crus)
Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac; Château Latour, Pauillac; Château Margaux, Margaux; Château Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan ; Château Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac.

Second Growths (Deuxièmes Crus)
Château Rauzan-Ségla, Margaux; Château Rauzan-Gassies, Margaux; Château Léoville-Las Cases, Saint-Julien; Château Léoville-Poyferré, Saint-Julien; Château Léoville-Barton, Saint-Julien; Château Durfort-Vivens, Margaux; Château Gruaud-Larose, Saint-Julien; Château Lascombes, Margaux; Château Brane-Cantenac, Margaux; Château Pichon Longueville Baron, Pauillac; Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, Pauillac; Château Ducru-Beaucaillou, Saint-Julien; Château Cos d'Estournel, Saint-Estèphe; Château Montrose, Saint-Estèphe.

Third Growths (Troisièmes Crus)
Château Kirwan, Margaux; Château d'Issan (Margaux); Château Lagrange, Saint-Julien; Château Langoa-Barton, Saint-Julien; Château Giscours, Margaux; Château Malescot Saint Exupéry, Margaux; Château Cantenac-Brown, Margaux; Château Boyd-Cantenac, Margaux; Palmer, now Château Palmer, Margaux; Château La Lagune, Ludon (Haut-Médoc); Château Desmirail, Margaux; Château Dubignon, Margaux; Château Calon-Ségur, Saint-Estèphe; Château Ferrière, Margaux; Château Marquis d'Alesme Becker, Margaux.

Fourth Growths (Quatrièmes Crus)
Château Saint-Pierre, Saint-Julien; Château Talbot, Saint-Julien; Château Branaire-Ducru, Saint-Julien; Château Duhart-Milon, Pauillac; Château Pouget, Margaux; Château La Tour Carnet, Saint-Laurent (Haut-Médoc); Château Lafon-Rochet, Saint-Estèphe; Château Beychevelle, Saint-Julien; Château Prieuré-Lichine, Margaux; Château Marquis de Terme, Margaux.

Fifth Growths (Cinquièmes Crus)
Château Pontet-Canet, Pauillac; Château Batailley, Pauillac; Château Haut-Batailley, Pauillac; Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste, Pauillac; Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse, Pauillac; Château Lynch-Bages, Pauillac; Château Lynch-Moussas, Pauillac; Château Dauzac, Margaux; Château d'Armailhac, Pauillac; Château du Tertre, Margaux; Château Haut-Bages-Libéral, Pauillac; Château Pédesclaux, Pauillac; Château Belgrave, Saint-Laurent (Haut-Médoc); Château de Camensac, Saint-Laurent (Haut-Médoc); Château Cos Labory, Saint-Estèphe; Château Clerc-Milon, Pauillac; Château Croizet Bages, Pauillac; Château Cantemerle, Macau (Haut-Médoc).

Alongside the reds resides the classification for Sauternes and Barsac from further up river on the Garonne. There, 27 estates make up a smaller pyramid of their own, topped by the legendary Château dâ€™Yquem, which had been classified out on its own above all the other sweet wines of the region.

Since the 1885 classification there have been other such systems established. Those of Graves and Saint-Emilion, both established much later than the 1855 and both subject to change, changes which cause no end of trouble for the authorities as estates are promoted or, more contentiously demoted and seek legal redress for the perceived injustice.

Cru Bourgeois is a further classification in the Médoc, representing some 30% of the production of the area. It was established in 1932 to represent properties outside of the Grand Cru Classé estates, though it was not officially recognised by the French government until 2003. At that time the selection of properties entitled to use the designation was revised and, unsurprisingly, fiercely contested by those who were left outside the classification, leading to a legal decision annulling the original classification while their status is re-examined by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce. The list has previously been revised every 12 years, but from the 2018 vintage will be accredited every five years, and is based on the history terroir, winemaking and quality control of the properties, overseen by the Alliance des Crus Bourgeios de Médoc created in the same year as the revision. It is divided into three categories: Cru Bourgeios, Cru Bourgeios Supérieur and Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel. In theory the fact that qualification for the designation is based on quality should see improvements in the quality of wines made under its nomenclature.

This third growth property is a substantial estate on the southern fringe of the Margaux appellation. Its history dates back to the 14th century, at which time the château had a keep to protect itself! The property’s wine-growing tradition began at mid-16th century.

During the 19th century, a series of wealthy owners, like the Cruse and Pescatore families, invested greatly in the property. This included much of the renovations that gave the château its neoclassic palace appearance, as well as re-landscaping the grounds and planting rare tree species, but the two World Wars in the 20th century took their toll.

After the Second World War, Giscours was bought by the Tari family from Algeria, whose winemaking experience enabled them to revive the diminished property. It was making excellent wine in the difficult decade of the 1970s, when in the UK it was the exclusivity of drinks business IDV and its Peter Dominic chain. Subsequently it lost direction until in 1995, when it was bought, along with Château du Tertre, by Dutch businessman Eric Albada Jelgersma, who gave it much-needed investment.

The estate has 90 hectares of vines, spread out over several plots, planted on gentle slopes of deep Garonne gravel. This terroir is particularly suited to cabernet sauvignon, which makes up the majority of plantings, and is joined by merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot.

We have found vintages can be rather uneven, but at its best Giscours is robust, full of fruit and body, and ages...

This third growth property is a substantial estate on the southern fringe of the Margaux appellation. Its history dates back to the 14th century, at which time the château had a keep to protect itself! The property’s wine-growing tradition began at mid-16th century.

During the 19th century, a series of wealthy owners, like the Cruse and Pescatore families, invested greatly in the property. This included much of the renovations that gave the château its neoclassic palace appearance, as well as re-landscaping the grounds and planting rare tree species, but the two World Wars in the 20th century took their toll.

After the Second World War, Giscours was bought by the Tari family from Algeria, whose winemaking experience enabled them to revive the diminished property. It was making excellent wine in the difficult decade of the 1970s, when in the UK it was the exclusivity of drinks business IDV and its Peter Dominic chain. Subsequently it lost direction until in 1995, when it was bought, along with Château du Tertre, by Dutch businessman Eric Albada Jelgersma, who gave it much-needed investment.

The estate has 90 hectares of vines, spread out over several plots, planted on gentle slopes of deep Garonne gravel. This terroir is particularly suited to cabernet sauvignon, which makes up the majority of plantings, and is joined by merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot.

We have found vintages can be rather uneven, but at its best Giscours is robust, full of fruit and body, and ages well, even if it lacks some Margaux finesse. The blend is generally 60% cabernet sauvignon, 32% merlot, 5% cabernet franc and 3% petit verdot, which ages for between 15 and 17 months in oak barrels, half of them new. We would recommend drinking it at between 10 to 20 years after the vintage.

2012 is something of a mixed bag overall. It was another complicated vintage in which the producers who were fastidious and sensitive in the vineyard and the winery were the most successful. They produced wines of great charm, with freshness and poise, that are very often approachable early for those not inclined to wait but in the best examples will happily cellar for the medium term.

The growing season was a difficult one. It started late; spring was wet, as was the early summer, which disrupted flowering . The remainder of the summer was very dry but unsettled weather returned for the harvest period. Considerable variability was the result, with some uneven ripening. Those prepared to put in a lot of work in the vineyard and who were willing to sacrifice some of the crop in an already small vintage made the best wines. Care was also needed in the cellars to avoid over-extraction of any unripe tannins.

Merlot on the right bank performed well and there are some excellent Pomerols and...

2012 is something of a mixed bag overall. It was another complicated vintage in which the producers who were fastidious and sensitive in the vineyard and the winery were the most successful. They produced wines of great charm, with freshness and poise, that are very often approachable early for those not inclined to wait but in the best examples will happily cellar for the medium term.

The growing season was a difficult one. It started late; spring was wet, as was the early summer, which disrupted flowering . The remainder of the summer was very dry but unsettled weather returned for the harvest period. Considerable variability was the result, with some uneven ripening. Those prepared to put in a lot of work in the vineyard and who were willing to sacrifice some of the crop in an already small vintage made the best wines. Care was also needed in the cellars to avoid over-extraction of any unripe tannins.

Merlot on the right bank performed well and there are some excellent Pomerols and Saint-Emilions, but many very fine cabernets were produced at top estates in the Médoc, with Margaux, Mouton, Haut-Brion, Palmer and Pichon Baron all vying for the cabernet crown, and Vieux Château Certan a particular highlight of the merlot dominant wines.

There are many well-judged, good value reds at the lower end of the price spectrum which will make enjoyable early drinking.

2012 was another fine vintage for the dry whites picked before the change in the weather. In terms of sweet wines those châteaux situated in the commune of Barsac breathed a collective sigh of relief at the end of the 2012 harvest, and have made some enchanting wines, with sweetness levels akin to 2008 (lower than in 2009 and 2011), and very pure botrytis character. 2012 was a tale of two communes, with many Sauternes properties deciding not to release a grand vin at all. Barsac’s limestone plateau was better able to withstand both the summer drought and the periods of intermittant rain during the harvest.