Chateau Giscous 2021 and 2022 Whole Bottle Review

Chateau Giscours (pronounced “Jeez Cour”) was originally a fortified property in the 14th century. It became a winery in 1552 when it was purchased by Pierre de Lhomme. The estate was originally known as the noble house of “Guyscoutz”, which is where the name Giscours originated. The winery has gone through a number of ownership changes. Between 1954-1995, it was owned by the Tari family. In 1995, the winery was purchased by Eric Albada Jelgersma, who passed away in 2018. It is now managed by his children, Dennis, Derk & Valerie. Mr. Jelgersma brought in Alexander van Beek as managing director in 1995 and the winery has achieved a superior level of consistency since 2000.

In 1998, Chateau Giscours was involved in a blending scandal where they admitted to using grapes from the Haut Medoc vineyards in their 2nd wine.

When Eric Albada Jelgersma bought control of Château Giscours in 1995, he acquired controlling interest in the company that held a farming lease for Giscours’ vineyards and the right to sell its wines. The ownership of the buildings and most of the vineyards still belonged to the Tari family.
Following Mr. Tari’s death in 2001, legal battles ensued between the Albadas and Tari’s son and daughter. At the end of 2023, Van Beek and the Albada Jelgersma siblings announced that they had succeeded in gaining control of the entire estate.

Chateau Giscours as a large winery with 102 hectares vineyard which is planted with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc. One of the key decisions made by Alexander van Beek is to replant the vineyard with more Cabernet Sauvignong grapes (previously more than 50% of the vineyard was planted with Merlot grapes). They own another 62 hectares in Haut Medoc but these grapes are not used in the Grand Cru or 2nd wine. About 20% of the vineyard is biodynamically farmed and about 25,000 cases of the Grand Cru is produced each year.

Giscours’ label has a mermaid (‘sirène’ in French) at the top of the label. This is why the 2nd wine is called La Sirène de Giscours.

The 2021 vintage is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot. The 2022 vintage is Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year for 2025 and is a blend of 64% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 3% petit verdot and 3% cabernet franc. There was no 2nd wine made in 2022 but still there was less of Giscour in 2022 than 2021 because it was a smaller crop.

For more information about the winery, please visit their website at https://giscours.com/en/