Chateau Giscours 3eme Cru Classe, Margaux 2018

The black color indicates a solid and structured red with loads of blackberry and blueberry character. Full-bodied and very tight and tensioned. Savory tannins that are powerful and intense at the finish. Classically structured. Finely toned and formed young red.

Deep purple in colour with violet edging, this is beating fast with juicy bramble fruit and life. You can feel the texture of the berries in the mouth, making this a luxurious, confident Giscours, with swirls of smoke backed up by spice. There's an effortless quality to the tannins, but this is definitely built to last. It easily stands up to the 2015 and 2016.

The 2018 Giscours appears to be going through a stubborn phase, as it is quite a bit less expressive from bottle than it was from barrel. Attractive floral, spice and citrus accents lift a core of super-ripe, reddish fruit. On the palate, though, the 2018 is far less expressive. It will be interesting to see how things pan out here.

The 2018 Giscours has a very Burgundian bouquet with pure red cherries, cassis and violet scents, well defined and less ostentatious than some of its peers. The palate is quite voluminous and powerful, with thickly layered black fruit, black pepper and mint. It's missing the grace of the '16 but has impressive length. This will be fascinating to observe as it matures in bottle.

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2018 Giscours delivers expressive notions of baked raspberries, Black Forest cake and sautéed herbs with a core of crème de cassis, pencil lead, fertile loam and fallen leaves. Full-bodied, taut and muscular in the mouth with earth-laced baked black fruits, it has a firm, chewy texture and refreshing herbal sparks on the finish.