Château Giscours: history and quality of its wines

Château Giscours has a long and rich history and a strong identity created by the innovative and ambitious families who have owned it. It was first mentioned in a historical document as a fortified keep in the 14th century, but the first reference to it as a wine producer dates back to the mid-16th century. The estate was awarded the rank of 3rd Grand Cru in the official classification of 1855. An overview of the history of Domaine Giscours and a glimpse of its best vintages

History of the Giscours estate

Before the French Revolution, this spectacular estate on the outskirts of Margaux, 20 minutes from Bordeaux, belonged to the Saint-Simon family. It was sequestered by the State as national property during this key period in French history and sold to two Americans: John Gray and Jonathan Davis in 1793. The estate subsequently changed hands several times, but the credit for the expansion of the site (over 200 hectares) and the construction of buildings, stables, presses, vats and cellars goes to Marc Promis. These renovations took place between 1825 and 1835. His efforts earned him the classification of 3rd Grand Cru in 1855. As for Eduard Cruse, he enhanced the estate's assets by converting it into a vast park and lush garden in 1875. A succession of owners followed until it was bought by Nicolas Tari in 1952, who also made a major contribution to the reconstruction, enlargement and modernisation of the site. The last change of ownership took place in 1995. At that time, Château Giscours was sold to Eric Albada Jelgersma, a Dutch businessman. But the estate experienced the darkest moment in its history in 1998, when it was accused of illegal practices against the laws of the Margaux appellation AOC by mixing fruit from the Haut Médoc appellation with other vines, milk, water and fruit acid. These include the 1995 and 1996 vintages. Former director Jean Michel Ferrandez admitted the allegations and passed them on to a former employee. Alexander van Beek, the Managing Director, with the agreement of the now late Eric Albada Jelgersma, made a change of team to restore the reputation of the establishment. Under Alexander Van Beek's leadership, the vineyards were also replanted, and machine harvesting was abandoned in favour of manual harvesting. This enabled the winery to obtain ISO 9002 certification in 2001 and regain its strong reputation for excellence.

Terroir and winemaking procedures at Domaine Giscours.

This large 300-hectare estate with 87 hectares of vineyards is planted with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. The sandy-limestone terroir also contains gravel. The average age of the vines is 45 years, and they can reach a height of 32 metres. But the estate also has 70-year-old vines near the château. The estate adopts optical technology and the biodynamic approach, which proscribes the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilisers. The vinification process takes place in concrete and stainless steel vats ranging in size from 20 to 260 hl. 80% of the fermentation takes place in vats and 20% in concrete. The wines are then matured in 50% new French oak barrels for an average of 18 months

Quality of Château Giscours wines.

The estate's Grands Crus are renowned for their elegant, feminine style with great length on the palate and excellent value for money. These wines evolve magnificently with around ten years in bottle, reaching full maturity after 12 to 30 years, depending on the vintage. What's more, their wine always receives top marks from the international press.