Château Giscours

The history of Giscours dates back to the 14th century. In 1552 Pierre de Lhomme, a rich Bordeaux draper, bought the 'Guyscoutz' aristocratic house, established a vast estate around it and planted the first vines. Jean-Pierre Pescatore acquired Giscours in 1847 and hired Pierre Skawinski, who completed major work on the buildings and the vineyard; in 1855 the estate was classified a Third Grand Cru Classé. Edouard Cruse, owner from 1875 to 1890, modernised the estate and built a model farm, Suzanne Farm, and the landscape artist Eugène Bühler created the park around the château. A mermaid first appeared on a Château Giscours label in 1900; the emblem gave the second wine its name. Emile Grange later acquired the estate from the Cruse family. The estate's history dates the era of Nicolas Tari (d. 2001) and his heirs from 1952 to 1995; Tari picked Giscours back up after the Second World War and reorganised its 300 hectares. In 1995 Dutch businessman Eric Albada Jelgersma bought a controlling stake from Nicolas Tari for $31 million: a 51 percent stake in the company that held the farming lease for the vineyards and the right to sell the wines, while another company, GFA du Château Giscours, owned the buildings and vines. In 1998 the estate's 1995 vintage became the subject of a wine fraud case over the blending of Haut-Médoc appellation wine with Margaux wine, and Eric Albada Jelgersma offered to buy back the affected bottles. He bought Caiarossa in Tuscany in 2004. Eric Albada Jelgersma (d. 2018) was succeeded by his children Dennis, Derk and Valérie, who took over the estate in 2018. In 2023 the liquidators of GFA du Château Giscours sold its assets to the family's Société d'Exploitation du Château Giscours, and at the end of 2023 the family announced that it had gained control of the entire estate.

• 1552: Pierre de Lhomme bought the 'Guyscoutz' house and planted the first vines.
• 1847: acquired by Jean-Pierre Pescatore; 1855: classified a Third Grand Cru Classé.
• 1952 to 1995: the Nicolas Tari era, in the estate's history; 1995: Eric Albada Jelgersma bought a controlling stake.
• 2018: Dennis, Derk and Valérie Albada Jelgersma took over; end of 2023: the family gained control of the entire estate.

Dennis, Derk and Valérie Albada Jelgersma are the owners of Château Giscours, and Alexander van Beek is General Manager; Eric Albada Jelgersma made him director of S.E Château Giscours in 1995. Didier Forêt has been Technical Director since 2008, after serving as Quality Manager from 1999 to 2001 and Deputy Operations Director from 2001 to 2007, and Jérôme Poisson has been Technical Manager since January 2021. Lionel Aznar joined in November 2002 as Cellar Master and has been Head of Winegrowing since 2008; Denis Uteau has been Cellar Master since 2008; and Laure Bastard, Sales Director, arrived in April 2002. As of 2025, Thomas Duclos was the estate's consultant. Earlier consultant oenologists included Pascal Ribereau-Gayon, Michel Rolland and Denis Dubourdieu, who was consultant from 2000 to 2015.

• Owners: Dennis, Derk and Valérie Albada Jelgersma; General Manager: Alexander van Beek, made director of S.E Château Giscours in 1995.
• Technical Director: Didier Forêt, since 2008; Technical Manager: Jérôme Poisson, since January 2021.
• Head of Winegrowing: Lionel Aznar, since 2008; Cellar Master: Denis Uteau, since 2008.
• Consultant (as of 2025): Thomas Duclos; Denis Dubourdieu was consultant oenologist from 2000 to 2015.

The vineyards stand on alluvial deposits of Garonne gravel dating from the Quaternary period, shaped into gravel hilltops (croupes gravelleuses) that allow excess water to drain off. Giscours has three major hills: Grand Poujeau, to the west of the estate, which reaches 21 metres and is made up almost entirely of peyrosols; Bel Air, a 12-metre hilltop with a high proportion of brunisols; and the Giscours plateau known as Cantelaude, at 17 metres, which extends over some 40 hectares. The oldest plots were planted in 1923, and old plots are maintained by interplanting young vines among the old ones. As of March 2024 the estate had 247 acres of vineyards in the Margaux appellation and 148 acres in the Haut-Médoc appellation, and more than 494 acres of forest, meadows, lakes and a river; its historical boundaries were bisected by the Margaux AOC boundary when it was drawn in 1954. The grape varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. The Giscours park and forest are certified Natura 2000 sites.

• Quaternary Garonne gravel shaped into gravel hilltops.
• Grand Poujeau (21 metres, peyrosols), Bel Air (12 metres, brunisols), Cantelaude plateau (17 metres, some 40 hectares).
• As of March 2024: 247 acres of vines in Margaux and 148 acres in Haut-Médoc.
• Oldest plots planted in 1923; the park and forest are certified Natura 2000 sites.

More than half of the vineyards are cultivated using organic agriculture methods. Grass cover is used between the rows, and the estate is replanting its historic grape varieties with massal selections from vine stock at least 70 years old. With the 2018 vintage the estate began spreading the harvest over five weeks, with successive passes through the same parcel; the youngest vines are picked first and the oldest as soon as they reach full ripeness. In the winery the grapes are sorted, gently de-stemmed and sorted again by optical sorting, then given a pre-fermentation cold maceration; alcoholic fermentation takes place at low temperatures with gentle extraction, and malolactic fermentation in vat. The Skawinski winery, named after Pierre Skawinski, has two vat houses, one for Margaux wines and one for Haut-Médoc wines, and a cellar of more than 1,500 barrels supplied by some ten coopers. For the 2024 Château Giscours, the estate's vintage notes give a 35-day maceration at 28°C and 17 months in French barrels, 50% new oak.

• More than half of the vineyards cultivated using organic agriculture methods.
• From the 2018 vintage: a five-week harvest with successive passes through each parcel.
• Optical sorting, pre-fermentation cold maceration and malolactic fermentation in vat.
• 2024 Château Giscours: 35-day maceration at 28°C; 17 months in French barrels, 50% new oak.

Château Giscours is the grand vin, from the Margaux appellation; the 2024 blend is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. La Sirène de Giscours is the second wine, from the estate's vines in the Margaux appellation; in 2022 the team judged the vintage so strong that no second wine was made. Haut-Médoc Giscours, the family's third wine, has been made by the Giscours team since it was created in 1992, from 60 hectares of vines in the Haut-Médoc appellation. Le Rosé x Giscours, first launched with the 2019 vintage, comes from a plot of Cabernet Sauvignon set aside for the rosé, and only the first pressing juices are used.

• Château Giscours: the grand vin, Margaux.
• La Sirène de Giscours: the second wine, Margaux; none was made in 2022.
• Haut-Médoc Giscours: the third wine, first made in 1992.
• Le Rosé x Giscours: a Cabernet Sauvignon rosé, first launched in 2019.

Wine Spectator named Château Giscours Margaux 2022 its Wine of the Year for 2025 and rated it 95 points; James Molesworth called it 'a pitch-perfect example of the vintage profile' and gave a drinking window of 2026 through 2040.

• 2025: Wine Spectator Wine of the Year, Château Giscours Margaux 2022 (95 points).

The estate calls Château Giscours 'an elegant, well-structured wine with magnificently bright aromas' and names two concepts it works with in every vintage: 'beautiful aromas and refined tannins.' Writing in Decanter in 2021, James Lawther MW placed Giscours 'on the more masculine side of Margaux with an inherent power.'

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://giscours.com/en/, https://giscours.com/en/discover-giscours/history-of-giscours/, https://giscours.com/en/discover-giscours/the-people-of-giscours/, https://giscours.com/en/our-wines/, https://giscours.com/en/our-wines/the-giscours-terroir/, https://giscours.com/en/our-wines/from-vine-to-winery/, https://giscours.com/en/our-wines/the-giscours-philosophy/, https://giscours.com/en/discover-giscours/tour-of-giscours/the-giscours-winery/, https://giscours.com/en/discover-giscours/tour-of-giscours/le-chateau/, https://giscours.com/en/aj-domaines/, https://giscours.com/en/wine/chateau-giscours/, https://giscours.com/en/wine/la-sirene-de-giscours/, https://giscours.com/en/wine/haut-medoc-giscours/, https://giscours.com/en/wine/le-rose-de-giscours/, https://giscours.com/en/legal-notices-privacy-policy/, https://giscours.com/fr/decouvrez-giscours/lhistoire/. Secondary sources: Wine Spectator (https://top100.winespectator.com/2025/wine/wine-no-1-bordeaux/, 2025; https://www.winespectator.com/articles/chateau-giscours-ownership-change, 5 March 2024; https://www.winespectator.com/articles/giscours-owner-eric-albada-jelgersma-dies, 22 June 2018) and Decanter (https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/giscours-case-finally-comes-to-court-82346/, 14 May 2008; https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/giscours-case-prosecution-demands-suspended-sentences-81717/, 5 June 2008; https://www.decanter.com/premium/chateau-giscours-producer-profile-463028/, 12 August 2021). Last verified 2026-10-14. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.