Description
Château Giscours, Haut-Médoc “Grande Réserve”
Sommeliers and aficionados the world over adore Bordeaux for its storied viticultural history; its grand châteaux; its soul-stirring and unabashedly expensive blue chip collectibles. But we here at SommSelect love it for something else, too: Its plethora of hidden, terroir-driven treasures, bottles that offer huge returns on our drinking dollar. Case in point is Château Giscours’ 2018 “Grande Réserve” from the Haut-Médoc.
Although you won’t see Margaux on the label, these vines lie just across that famous border and have always been owned, farmed, and vinified by the Third Growth Giscours team. That so much distinction and deliciousness could be crammed into a bottle so affordable perhaps shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s just what you get when you combine the care and precision practiced by one of the Left Bank’s most revered Classified Growths with vineyard sites a step outside the legendary Margaux appellation. Add in the fact that it comes from one the most buzzed-about Bordeaux vintages in recent decades, 2018, and you’ve got a wine priced to sip in your sweatpants even though it drinks like you’re wearing a tuxedo. Jackpot!
Bordeaux may be full of hidden gems, but few come with the indisputable pedigree of Giscours’ “Grande Réserve” The estate itself was written about as far back as 1330, but the first reference to winemaking where the château now sits was in 1552. It’s changed hands many times since then, with wine production a constant throughout its 500+ year existence. In 1845, it was purchased by Pierre Skawinski, one of the most important figures in Bordelais history. Skawinski invented a plow that still bears his name, and was one of the key figures in developing chemical cultural defenses against the mildews that wreaked havoc in the region’s wet soils. He worked at Giscours for over 50 years and developed one of the very first gravity-powered wineries in the world. On top of it all, in the 1855 Bordeaux classification, Giscours was ranked as a third growth, a distinction it still carries today.
In recent decades, after hitting a mid-century rough patch, the château has become one of the highest-praised Third Growths, garnering wide critical acclaim for its Margaux wines. The château’s vines stretch across not just Margaux, but also into the Haut-Médoc, where today’s wine originates. In classic French wine law style, despite the Haut-Médoc vineyards being in an entirely different appellation, there’s little functional difference between them and the Margaux vines. In fact, Giscours’ Haut-Médoc vines are directly adjacent to their Margaux vines. The same combination of sand and gravel responsible for Margaux’s famous head-spinning aromas are present here, and the 50/50 split of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the vineyards lends a decidedly Margaux-esque combo of perfume and power to today’s wine. After fermenting for two weeks, the wine was transferred to 20% new oak barrels, for around 12-15 months, and then lightly clarified before bottling.
Right out of the gate, “Grande Réserve” announces itself as a powerful yet detailed bottle of Bordeaux classicism. There’s crushed purple plums, fresh blackcurrants, raspberry liqueur, blackberry, nutmeg, pencil lead, and pulverized gravel on the nose. It’s full-bodied and luxuriant on the palate, thanks to the warm 2018 vintage, with a fine throughline of acidity providing refreshment. The tannins are exceptionally suave and refined, beautifully framing the ample weight, and promising a healthy half-decade or more of aging. It is, in short, utterly delicious and ready to go now, with plenty of upside if you’re patient enough to hang onto a few bottles. Sub-$40 Bordeaux just doesn’t get much better than this!
