1996 Giscours

Attractive sweetness at almost 30 years old, with Left Bank personality, brambled dark fruits, cocoa bean and espresso. The best of the 1990s, this retains firm tannins, melted but confident, and maybe the first in the series where you can feel the slide towards a more modern Giscours. Tertiary notes of tobacco and smoked campfire, but this is in no hurry to go anywhere. One of the first things the Albada family did was to up Cabernet Sauvignon in the vineyards, back to what it was in the 1970s, and although this was early days, the percentage in the blend was already being increased. 50% new oak. Pascal Ribereau-Gayon consultant.

Tasted at the Château Giscours vertical, the 1996 Château Giscours is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot picked between September 9 and 23. It has never been a really great vintage for this Margaux address, despite the benevolent growing season for the Left Bank. The nose is nicely defined with light red berry fruit, but there is a distracting medicinal scent that puts me off and detracts from terroir expression. The palate is medium-bodied with light tannin, a little dusty and dour with a thin and rather lackluster finish. It just seems ordinary. Tasted June 2015.