La Sirène de Giscours 2011 - Second Vin du Château Giscours

This vast 300-hectare estate (80 hectares of which are under cultivation), located in Labarde, has had a turbulent history due to complicated family successions. The vineyards have remained in the Tari family since 1952, but the wine is crafted by a talented team under the direction of Alexander van Beek, inspired by the courage of the recently deceased Éric Albada Jelgersma. As the estate’s winemaker, he had restored it to its rightful level of excellence. Thanks to its terroir, this wine produces a particularly deep-colored and full-bodied Margaux with exceptional aging potential, whose character differs significantly from the wines of the appellation’s northern section. When at its best, it can rival Château Palmer, yet its prices remain more reasonable than those of its rival.

Round, full-bodied, well-balanced, and aromatic.

Giscours is one of the largest estates in the Médoc (100 ha), dominated by a monumental château built by the Counts of Pescatore—a family of bankers—to host Empress Eugénie when she visited her summer residence in Biarritz. Highly representative of a Médoc grand cru in terms of its buildings, Giscours is equally so for its beautiful terroir of deep gravel soils, which are remarkably uniform. This Margaux third growth also owns plots within the Haut-Médoc appellation for two labels: Ch. Duthil and the Haut-Médoc de Giscours.

 

The estate, leased by the Dutch Albada Jelgersma family, is managed by the talented Alexander Van Beek. Let’s set aside the legal disputes between the Tari family, who own the land, and the winemakers, and focus on the wines. Giscours benefits from a first-rate terroir, as evidenced by many older vintages. Like many others, it went through a brief slump during the 1990s and 2000s. A major restructuring of the vineyard has allowed the estate to bounce back, and the most recent vintages have returned to its full-bodied, intense style.