Lots of deep blue fruit with blackberries and grape skins, as well as tar and asphalt. Lead, too. It’s full-bodied, yet very tight with powerful, defined tannins, surrounded by attractive ripe fruit. Serious. Reminds me of the excellent 1975. A blend of 65% cabernet sauvignon and 35% merlot.

Score: 96-97 James Suckling (JS), JamesSuckling.com, June 2020

Quite simply, Giscours is magnificent in 2019, and also one of the rising stars of Margaux today. Pliant, supple and creamy, the 2019 races out of the glass with striking dimension. Ripe red cherry, red plum, blood orange, spice and new leather all flesh out in a radiant, finessed Giscours that hits all the right notes. The 2019 is fabulous - that´s all there is to it. Tasted two times.

My tasting with General Manager Alexander Van Beek and Estate Manager Lorenzo Pasquini was one of the highlights of several weeks of the Zoom calls all of us will remember from this very particular campaign. According to Van Beek and Pasquini, 2019 was one of the longest harvests on record. The Merlot was picked early, to preserve freshness, while the Cabernet needed several additional weeks to achieve full physiological ripeness. Cuvaisons were long, 35 days on average, but pumpovers were stopped earlier in order to avoid overextraction. This new approach, along with the input of super-talented consulting oenologist Thomas Duclos, yielded two superb 2019s that continue Giscours´ ascendency in Margaux and Bordeaux.

Score: 94-96 Antonio Galloni (AG), Vinous Media (VM), June 2020

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2019 Giscours opens with notes of baked blackcurrants, plum preserves, tar and bouquet garni plus suggestions of moss-covered tree bark and chargrill. Medium to full-bodied, the palate delivers tons of black fruit preserves flavors, supported with a slightly chewy texture and just enough freshness, finishing long and savory. This is an impressive Giscours that seems to be holding its cards close to its chest right now—let´s just see if it comes up trumps at bottling.

Score: 93-95+ Lisa Perrotti-Brown (LPB), The Wine Advocate (WA), July 2020

The 2019 Giscours is ripe and extrovert on the nose with exuberant black cherries, blueberry and crushed violets bursting from the glass. This is very seductive. The palate is medium-bodied with a tang of seaweed infusing the black fruit on the entry, segueing into more tarry notes toward the well structured finish. This articulates a sense of completeness that I appreciate. The persistency is impressive. This is a superb, potentially long-term Giscours that may well end up at the top of my banded score.

Score: 94-96 Neal Martin (NM), Vinous Media (VM), June 2020