Château Giscours
Château Giscours
#PROPERTY: History & Terroir
The history of Château Giscours
Château Giscours is a historic wine estate located in the commune of Labarde, in the Margaux region of Bordeaux, France. Its history dates back to the 14th century. The estate was established by the Guillaume de Ginscoys family, giving rise to the name "Giscours".
In the 19th century, the Château was acquired by the Pescatore family, who brought important technical innovations to winemaking and raised the reputation of Giscours wine. In 1855, when the Médoc wine classification was awarded, Château Giscours was recognized as a 3rd Grand Cru Classé, making it a national asset.
For much of the 20th century, the estate went through periods of decline and economic difficulties. However, in the 1950s, a wine enthusiast, Nicolas Tari, bought the château and undertook a major restoration of the estate, restoring the vineyards and modernizing the winemaking facilities. This renaissance, thanks to the Tari family, enabled Giscours to regain its renown and prestige.
More recently, in 1995, the estate was acquired by new owner Eric Albada Jelgersma, a Dutch businessman, who has continued to invest and strive to maintain and improve the quality of the wines produced. Today, Château Giscours is renowned for its elegant, complex wines, representing the excellence of the Margaux terroir.
The owner of Château Giscours
Following the death of Eric Albada Jelgersma, his children, Dennis, Derk and Valérie, took over the reins of Château Giscours to continue the family legacy in the world of wine. Joining the ranks of management, they are committed to maintaining the quality and excellence of the winery. They were accompanied in this transition by Alexander van Beek, who takes on the role of General Manager.
This new generation of Albada Jelgersma owners is committed to continuing their father's work, with a focus on innovation, preserving tradition and constantly improving the quality of Giscours wines. Their involvement marks a new era for the estate, combining family heritage and contemporary vision to maintain and strengthen Château Giscours' reputation within the wine world.
Château Giscours terroir
Geological studies carried out by renowned experts reveal the exceptional origin of our terroir: alluvial deposits of Garonne gravel, dating from the ancient Quaternary, form the basis of our vineyards.
These arid, eroded soils, made up of alluvial deposits carried down from the Pyrenees in the Quaternary, gave rise to reliefs known as "croupes gravelles" in the Médoc. The relief favors drainage, allowing Cabernet Sauvignon, the dominant grape variety, to express its full potential.
A terroir composed of 3 exceptional sections
At Giscours, three major croupes stand out, each contributing to the richness and complexity of the wines:
Le Grand & Petit Poujeau from the Château Giscours terroir
Bel Air from the Château Giscours terroir
Le Plateau de Giscours from the Château Giscours terroir
Le Grand & Petit Poujeau: To the west of the estate, Grand Poujeau rises to a height of 21 metres and is mainly composed of peyrosols. These gravelly soils, brought in by the Garonne and Dordogne rivers, offer warm conditions that are ideal for Cabernet Sauvignon to achieve exceptional ripeness.
Bel Air : This hilltop, 12 meters above sea level, has a significant proportion of Brunisols, a terroir reputed to be cooler, ideal for hot, dry years.
Plateau de Giscours, known as Cantelaude: Situated at an altitude of 17 meters, this plateau is a subtle blend of the two previous terroirs, offering consistency to the Merlot and added complexity to the Cabernet Sauvignon.
The roots of our vines, plunging to depths of up to ten meters, draw the necessary water from underground layers during periods of drought. This protects our grape varieties - Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot - from the vagaries of the climate.
#WINES FROM THE DOMAIN: Appellations and Cuvées
Château Giscours Haut-Médoc appellation
Haut-Médoc Giscours is a wine for pleasure, full of conviviality and freshness. Its bright aromatic signature perfectly reflects the Giscours identity.
In keeping with this philosophy, the winemakers meticulously tend to the 60 hectares of vines dedicated to the Haut-Médoc appellation throughout the year. Balance and finesse are the watchwords of this viticultural approach. The terroir, a blend of fine gravel and sand, imbues the wine with a delicate subtlety.
With its generous fruitiness, delicate tannins and refreshing finish, this wine is a source of pride for us. It sits harmoniously alongside the Grands Vins de Giscours, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to quality and excellence.
Château Giscours Margaux appellation
Château Giscours' Margaux appellation represents the excellence and finesse of wines produced in this prestigious Bordeaux wine region. Margaux wines are distinguished by their vintage, their elegance, their complexity and their ability to fully express the character of the region's emblematic grape varieties, notably Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
Discover our selection of Margaux appellation wines
Château Giscours vintages
Château Giscours Margaux Grand Cru classé
Le Sirène de Giscours second wine
Haut-Médoc Giscours
Le Rosé X Giscours
Château Giscours, a Grand Cru classé in 1855, embodies the expertise of its teams and the richness of its terroir. This Margaux appellation wine, with its voluptuous, gourmet personality, reveals fine, silky tannins that give it a powerful, bewitching charm, guaranteeing unaltered evolution over time.
Each season, meticulous attention is paid to each vine, with the blending process beginning in the spring. During the harvest, a rigorous selection by age and repeated visits to each plot ensure the optimal harvest of Merlot for its roundness, and Cabernet for its structure and freshness.
In the winery, the extraction approach has been rethought to sublimate the delicacy of the tannins. Maceration, designed as an infusion, favors subtlety over intensity, with each decision guided by tasting.
La Sirène de Giscours, the estate's second wine, embodies the vineyard's delicacy. Meticulously crafted by the technical team from the spring onwards, this uncomplicated wine reveals a fruity aromatic palette, freshness on the palate and silky tannins integrated into a creamy texture. Pleasant when young, it gains in complexity with age.
The origin of La Sirène de Giscours has intrigued for decades. Emile Grange, new owner of Château Giscours, was captivated by the drawing of a mermaid on a cast-iron plaque, a symbol shared with Jean O'Byrne, 18th-century purchaser of neighboring Château La Houringue.
Rosé X Giscours stands out as a rosé de terroir, offering a light color and subtle aromas of white flowers. This confidential cuvée promises to seduce all year round, offering a different experience from Bordeaux rosé!
Guided by the same concern for quality that characterizes the production of their Grand Cru Classé Château Giscours, the team has meticulously selected and managed a plot of Cabernet Sauvignon exclusively destined for this rosé throughout the year.
To achieve freshness and fruity aromas, the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were harvested early and gently, with only the first pressing juices retained for fermentation at an ideal temperature.
Château Giscours vintage classification
Malolactic fermentation takes place in vats, punctuated by regular tastings to define the final blend that gives birth to each vintage. The best vintages of Château Giscours include :
Château Giscours 1928, 1959, 1982, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2009, 2016, 2019 and 2020, 2022
Making the Château Giscours cuvées
Vinification at Château Giscours is a meticulous art, marked by low-temperature alcoholic fermentation, favoring gentle, airtight extraction. This quest for delicacy and aromatic brilliance results in finely defined blends, each embodying a unique vintage, captivating and full of character.
After fermentation in vats, the wine is aged in French oak barrels, half of which are new, for 17 months, sculpting the elegant, distinctive character of Château Giscours wines.
Located in Labarde, in the heart of the Margaux appellation, Château Giscours is a jewel on Bordeaux's Left Bank, having even welcomed Empress Eugenie to this majestic venue, designed by Pescatore for her Biarritz escapades.
The estate's viticultural origins date back to 1552, under the impetus of Pierre de Lhomme, who inspired the first planting of vines on this exceptional terroir.
At Giscours, the selection process is a relentless quest for quality, from the meticulously sorted grapes to their gentle destemming, to the final selection through optical sorting, retaining only the very best of the crop. Immerse yourself in the excellence and tradition of centuries-old know-how at the heart of Château Giscours.
What is the purchase price of Château Giscours?
The purchase price of Château Giscours may depend on several criteria, such as the quality of its terroir, the vintages, the production, etc. To obtain precise information on the current purchase price of Château Giscours, or to purchase wine online, please consult our offers. To obtain precise information on the current purchase price of Château Giscours or to buy wine online, please consult our offers.
#IN BRIEF: Figures
Region : Bordeaux
Appellation : Margaux
Surface area : 300 Hectares including 95 Hectares of vines
Red grape varieties : Cabernet-Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (32%), Cabernet franc (5%), Petit Verdot (3%),
Vine cultivation : Raisonnée