Margaux · third growth (3e grand cru classé) in 1855
Château Giscours: available vintages, prices and pairings
The grand vin and its second wine, La Sirène de Giscours, vintage by vintage, with the format, the indicative price and what to expect from it today: ready to drink, or to keep. Tick what interests you, and the quote goes out with your selection.
Vintages on the price list
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Two wines, one estate
Same estate, same team, two uses.
Château Giscours
The grand vin. Mostly cabernet sauvignon, merlot, a little cabernet franc and petit verdot. Ready at around eight years, it lasts twenty-five.
La Sirène de Giscours
The second wine, ready at around three years, at less than half the price.
A very large estate in Labarde, in the south of the appellation, with its woods, its meadows and a 19th-century château. The Albada Jelgersma family, of Dutch origin, has run it since 1995 and also owns Château du Tertre. The appellation's other châteaux are on the Margaux wines page.
The vines grow on early Quaternary Garonne gravels, on three gravel mounds. To the west, Grand Poujeau rises to 21 metres: coarse gravel, warm soils for cabernet sauvignon. Bel Air, at 12 metres, has cooler gravelly-sandy soils that like hot, dry years. The Cantelaude plateau, at 17 metres, gives flesh to the merlot. The roots go down about ten metres. 2006, saved by an Indian summer, is delicate, with fine tannins. 2011, an early year, keeps its freshness and liveliness. 2014 is driven by cabernet sauvignon, with 10% petit verdot. In 2017, the frost only hit the low-lying plots.
What to serve it with
- Château Giscours: lamb (which wine with lamb), rib of beef (which wine with beef), game for the older vintages (which wine with game).
- La Sirène: duck breast (which wine with duck), roast poultry (which wine with poultry).
- With cheese: hard cheeses (which wine with cheese).
Which vintage for which occasion
For a wedding, La Sirène on the tables, the grand vin at the top table (which Bordeaux for a wedding). For a birthday, the birth year, if the table has it (birth-year vintage).
Is Château Giscours a grand cru classé?
Yes. It is a third growth (troisième grand cru classé) in the 1855 classification, in the Margaux appellation. La Sirène de Giscours, its second wine, is not classified.
What is the link with Château du Tertre?
The same family heads both, but they are two separate classified growths. Du Tertre, a fifth growth in Arsac, is generally cheaper and ready a little earlier.
When should you drink a Château Giscours?
Allow eight years before opening it and twenty-five years of good form, a little more in a great year, a little less in a weak year or in half-bottles; for La Sirène, three to ten years. The table applies this rule to each line; it isn't a tasting note, and a badly stored bottle ages faster.
Are the prices shown the prices on the quote?
They are the indicative prices from the price list, incl. VAT, per bottle of the format, excluding delivery. The quote confirms the price, the availability of each vintage and shipping; the delivery scale gives the lead times. For a vintage missing from the table, the quote request is still open.