Château Giscours

The château

Giscours began with a merchant. In 1552 Pierre de Lhomme, a rich Bordeaux draper, bought the noble house called Guyscoutz, built an estate around it and planted the first vines, on land with a history going back to the 14th century. It was already among the ranked growths of the Médoc when Cyrus Redding, the English writer whose A History and Description of Modern Wines appeared in 1833, surveyed them. The 19th century made it grand: under the Promis, the Pescatores and the Cruses the château became a neoclassical palace, Eugène Bühler laid out a park of rare trees, and vast working buildings went up, the Suzanne Farm among them. After the Second World War Nicolas Tari took the estate on and reorganized its 300 hectares.

Eric Albada Jelgersma, a Dutch businessman, wine lover and art collector, bought it in 1995, restructured the vineyard and renovated the winery; at his death in 2018 his children Dennis, Derk and Valérie took over. Alexander Van Beek is general manager, Didier Foret technical director, Denis Uteau cellar master and Ahmed Jaayjaa the winemaker, who also runs the kitchen garden. The vineyard covers 100 hectares in Margaux, within 160 in all, planted 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot; the grand vin (the estate’s first wine) of 2024 is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. More than half the vineyard is farmed organically, and no herbicides, insecticides or products harmful to the workers have been used for 10 years: oats and barley grow between the rows, fallow land rests under rye, vetch and clover, mating disruption keeps pests in check, and nearly 800 meters of hedgerow have gone in since 2020. About 250,000 bottles are made, aged 17 months in oak, half of it new, and La Sirène de Giscours is the second wine.

Giscours can stand in very fast company. I tasted the 2005 in June 2025 at a dinner that also poured Château Margaux and Château Palmer, and it was the wine of the night: an intense, almost sweet nose, plum, black fruit, earth, leather, sage and violets, full-bodied, with solid structure, integrated tannins and a long finish, everything you would hope for from a top estate at 20 years.

At a glance

Appellation

Margaux Terroir of Margaux →

Classification

Troisième Cru Classé 1855; Michelin Guide, 1 grape (2026)

Owners

Dennis, Derk and Valérie Albada Jelgersma, since 2018; their father Eric from 1995

Direction

Alexander Van Beek, general manager; Didier Foret, technical director; Denis Uteau, cellar master

Enologist

Ahmed Jaayjaa

Vineyard

100 hectares in Margaux, within 160 hectares in all

Grapes

Cabernet Sauvignon 70%, Merlot 24%, Cabernet Franc 3%, Petit Verdot 3%

Farming

More than half organic; no herbicides or insecticides for 10 years; cover crops, mating disruption, nearly 800 meters of hedgerow since 2020

Cellar

17 months in oak, half of it new

Production

About 250,000 bottles

Wines

Château Giscours; La Sirène de Giscours; Haut-Médoc Giscours; Le Rosé x Giscours