Chateau Giscours 2000

WEINWISSER: "Sanft aufhellendes Granat-Rubin. Das verführerischste Bouquet aller Margaux, so süss, so beerig, so fein, delikate Waldbeerenfruchtnote, vermischt mit buttrigem Caramel und gerösteten Mandeln, mit der Luft kommen einzigartige Kräutertöne zum Tragen. Auch im Gaumen viel Frucht, burgundische Textur, rahmig schmelzende Tannine, im Kern eine ausgeglichene Adstringenz erzeugend, Lakritze im nachaltigen Extrakt, perfekte Reife, stützender, vanilliger Unterton, vom reifen Merlot geprägter Schokoton. Ein genialer Giscours, im Finale Affinitäten zu einem grossen Wein der Ribera del Duero."

JAMES SUCKLING: "This is very perfumed, with mushrooms, berries, and even strawberries. Full and round on the palate with soft tannins and lovely sweet finish. This is very long and balanced, but still needs time. Just starting to open up now, but give it a couple of years."

FALSTAFF: "Mittleres Rubingranat, zarter Ockerrand. Rauchig, kandierte Orangen, starke Röst­aromen, würzige Nuancen, facettenreich. Saftig, komplex, wieder Röstaromen, kraftvoll, mineralisch und lang anhaltend, noch nicht ganz entwickelt, extraktsüß, großes Potenzial für die Zukunft."

JANCIS ROBINSON: "Dark ruby. Fragrant and full bodied and flattering. Solid with some lead pencil character. A big beefy mouthful but definitively left bank."

THE WINE CELLAR INSIDER: "Elegant, refined, medium bodied and silky, with a nose of flowers, cherries, truffle and leaf. This is a very pretty wine, that is just about fully developed. The wine should remain at this level for at least 15 years, or even longer."

WINE ENTHUSIAST: "This is a big, powerful, firm wine, with a top layer of ripe, glamorous fruit flavors. Blackcurrant jelly fruits are shot through with ripe acidity and soft tannins. It should develop relatively fast, but then last well. "

DECANTER: "This is a big, rich style of wine with a deep inner core of colour and fruit that is almost on the overripe side. The extraction seems a little more pushed, the tannins chunky and slightly chewy on the finish. That said, there's still an innate freshness and gourmand nature to the wine. It will appeal to those that prefer a plusher style, less so those that have a more classic leaning."

WINE SPECTATOR: "A touch more advanced than the rest of the pack, with beautiful singed alder and juniper notes starting to lead the way while the core of lightly steeped black currant and fig fruit notes is simmering nicely with subtle charcoal and loam elements. Stylish bay-infused finish."

THE WINE ADVOCATE: "Tasted at the Château Giscours vertical, the 2000 Château Giscours is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc picked between September 25 and October 7. The bouquet is clearly in a different league to the previous two vintages: red plum, mulberry and cedar aromas that generously waft from the glass. There is something a little more exotic about these aromatics, with hints of stewed apricots in the background. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin and cedar-infused black fruit with hints of black truffle towards the finish. Perhaps I was a little over-enthusiastic when I last tasted this millennial Margaux, and it seems to lose energy observing it over a ten-minute period, hence my docking a couple of points. Tasted June 2015."