Bright, dark ruby with a tight rim. Fragrances-dry violets. Ripe dark fruit; chocolaty, fruity finish. Quite elegant; fine tannins; good structure; medium length; medium body. Very palatable. Drinking fine.
Scores and notes are:
RP91. Made from a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc, the second wine, the 2009 Reserve de la Comtesse, exhibits notes of forest floor, white chocolate, liquorice, black currants and vanillin-infused black cherries. In addition, it possesses a sweet, round, generous style, given its high glycerin. The Reserve de la Comtesse and Pichon Lalande have about 13% alcohol, slightly lower than most Pauillacs achieved in 2009. Edited.
JS91. Currants and flowers on the nose. Dried spices as well. Full-bodied, with silky yet chewy tannins and a long finish. Dense and solid. Second wine of Pichon-Lalande. Edited.
92, Derek Smedley. Bilberry freshness gives a lighter feel to the nose, but the fruit on the palate is rich and ripe, giving flesh in the middle. The blueberry and bramble are sweet, backed up by dark chocolate enriching the back palate. The fruit mix lingers on the finish.
Giscours is the flagship of Labarde. While firmly grounded on a Third Growth, where does Giscours stand? As the owner said, Giscours is a 'null autre', meaning second to none. But is it an indictment of consumer sovereignty? One cannot say they are good and believe they are good! However, a Labarde shall always need time. Its tannins are firm and austere. It is always a masculine Margaux that absolution needs time to resolve the strong characters.
After 14 years, we are convinced that this bottle of Giscours 2009 may be good enough. The aromatics have retained a reasonable degree of freshness, nuanced and complex. It offers, on the palate, is full-bodied with grainy yet tamed tannins, deep broody dark and red berried/currant fruits, touches of cocoa and a hint of cracked black pepper, leather and a tone of dark chocolate, reflecting the growing season as well as the terroir. Formed from a blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot using 50% new oak from seven suppliers, it is still lactic in the finish. Smooth, there is no flabbiness marking the finish, and it offers decent length. Drink it over the next 5-6 years. So it is a wine to savour now.
Scores are high. The tastings and scores are also consistent, such as
RP95 The finest Giscours in my professional career (I said the same thing from barrel), this dense purple wine has a lovely nose of burning embers, charcoal, creme de cassis, new saddle leather and damp, forest floor notes. It is full-bodied, with sweet, well-integrated tannins and a multi-dimensional, almost skyscraper-like mid-palate and finish. With its low acidity and remarkable substance and depth, this gorgeous wine should age beautifully for 20-30 years. Edited.
JS95 Aromas of blueberries, blackberries and flowers. Very beautiful. The entire body, with a solid core of fruit and firm tannins. It is balanced and refined. This bottle is ultra-refined. Best wine from here since 1970. One of the great values of the vintage. Best after 2018. Edited.
Updated: Feb 8, 2023
Quite a fruit-intense example, this bottle gives a good sense of fleshy blackberry and boysenberry in a relatively supple frame. This St Julien type of elegant personality readies for immediate consumption. It remains an attractive quintessential Pauillac well-balanced through using two grapes(72% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28% Merlot, matured in 60% new oak). It gathers momentum in the glass and develops a subtle mint accent. The palate reflects that the nose is medium-bodied with supple, lithe tannin, well-balanced, with long length. Cedary and minty finish. Consistent scores in the range of 93 to 94.
94Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (224), April 2016
There’s an immediate appeal to the nose and palate. Both are bathed in blackberries and dark plums. The tannins are superbly cut and very long and fresh. The oak chimes in with spicy flavors and bolsters plush grape tannins in a harmonious finish. Try from 2022. Edited.
94James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2018
Bright limpid crimson. Quite tense and exciting spiciness on the nose. Rich and ripe. Quite forward but has a good savoury undertow. Lots of energy. Dry but not drying end. A good effort! Nothing forced.
Drink 2024-2040
93 Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, April 2016
Christel Spinner, the talented oenologist at Grand-Puy-Lacoste, applies her special touch tothis wine, too. Sourced from sandier soils, it’s often a little lighter in style, but that’s not the case here. The wine has good grip and structure with stylish, toasty oak for support.
Drink: 2020-28
