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The renaissance of Kirwan, with the consultancy of Michel Rolland, continues with this ripe, forward, concentrated wine. The tannins are sweet and soft, with a solid, chunky structure that promises a long life. The finish displays balanced new wood flavors and a smooth polish.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEGreat nose of dark fruit, fresh tobacco and hints of licorice and cedar. Leather. Full body, extremely fine and polished. Lasts for minutes. Drink now or hold. A wine to enjoy for years ahead.James Suckling | 93 JSThe 2000 Château Kirwan is fully mature and drinking nicely, yet certainly has plenty of life ahead of it. Lots of classic darker currant fruits as well as cedar pencil, green tobacco, spice, and chocolate all emerge from the glass, and it's a rich, powerful, mouth-filling Margaux that has ripe tannins, good overall balance, and outstanding length. It has another decade of prime drinking and, I suspect, a gradual decline after that.Jeb Dunnuck | 91 JDStill somewhat tannic but very much in the style that Kirwan has favored over recent vintages, this is a full-bodied, muscular, powerhouse effort. The wine still has a dense ruby/purple color, with loads of blackberries, cassis, and some noticeable new oak still lingering in the background. Powerful, rich, and full, this wine needs another 2-3 years of cellaring and should age nicely for another 20 years.Robert Parker | 90 RP

A successful wine for the vintage, this blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 8% Petit Verdot boasts complex notes of menthol, black currants, plums, licorice, and a hint of cappuccino in its stunning aromatics. Dense, medium to full-bodied, with high levels of tannin in a big, full-bodied style (much in the spirit of such classic Bordeaux vintages as 1966, 1986, and 1996), this wine possesses superb purity and serious length, but should be purchased only by those with considerable patience and a good, cold cellar, since it will need plenty of time. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2028.Robert Parker | 94 RPRich aromas of vanilla, chocolate and berry follow through to a full-bodied palate, with ultrafine tannins and a long, silky finish. Very fine indeed. Palmer shows power with finesse here. Best after 2007. 8,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WSGood bright ruby-red. Sweet, penetrating aromas of raspberry, currant, flowers and sweet oak. Tight today but not hard, with burnished oak notes sweetening the dark berry and floral flavors. Finishes long and firmly tannic, with cabernet-dominated floral and minty notes.Vinous Media | 90+ VM

This is full and powerful, with loads of fruit and a tropical undertone of berries and mango. Loads of tannins in this big wine, but still very fresh. This needs more time than the 2000. Give it five years. Pull the cork in 2015.James Suckling | 93 JSAromas of blackberry, black olives and licorice. Medium- to full-bodied, with velvety tannins and a fruity finish. Refined and nicely done. Best after 2010. 21,665 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WSGiscours should be taken seriously by consumers as the quality has been ratcheted up over the last 7-8 years. The deep ruby/purple-hued 2003 offers complex, evolved aromatics of wood smoke, chocolate, charcoal, black cherry jam, and cassis. Lush, medium to full-bodied, and broad, with low acidity, copious glycerin, and a layered, persistent finish (it lasts for 40+ seconds), this beauty can be drunk now or cellared for 15 years.Robert Parker | 90 RPThe wine has held up well and is clearly one of the better examples from this hot, dry vintage. There’s some brick at the rim and the nose is a little flat with just a hint of dark pastille fruit and licorice . There’s a sweetness to the palate and the tannins are a little chunky and drying but there’s still obvious fruit and that innate freshness to balance the obvious warmth of the year. Drinking Window 2021 - 2025.Decanter | 90 DECIn normal vintages it’s velvety and rich, but Giscours seems to have gone over the top in 2003. The fruit is certainly there, generally fresh, but there is an underlying sense of over-ripeness, which needs to be better integrated: Hopefully this will happen as time goes on. For the moment, it’s a question mark.Wine Enthusiast | 90 WE

91–93 A rounded, soft-tannined ripe wine, which shows traces of black currant jelly as well as good acidity. It is attractive, layering sweetness with good, ripe fruit.Wine Enthusiast | 92 WE

A dense wine, powerful while also elegant. It shows all the best character of a grand Margaux, with fine tannins as well as dense structure. It will age well.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEA generous, well-rounded Margaux, expansive through the mid-palate but finishing a little short. Again, this shows that 2008 is a good - but not great - vintage, and really one where the full pleasure of drinking is to be taken now and over the next decade. The tannins are beautifully soft, and the cassis and tobacco flavours are still vibrant, floating upwards without being spiky. Drinking Window 2018 - 2030.Decanter | 91 DECTasted at the Château Giscours vertical, the 2008 Château Giscours is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot picked between September 30 and October 1. The bouquet is very well defined with ebullient red berry fruit mixed with orange peel and cedar aromas. There is something that distantly echoes a Côte de Beaune! Perhaps the purity on offer here? The palate is very well balanced with a keen line of acidity, very fine tannins and ample freshness. I loved this Giscours from barrel and it is now living up to my expectations. The terroir shines through on this wine - true Margaux. This is an excellent wine from winemaker Alexandre Van Beek. Tasted June 2015.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 91 RP-NMThe 2008 Giscours is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Compared to the 1998 and 1988, this has much more fruit and vitality on the nose: blackberry, bilberry, cedar and just a faint tang of marmalade. I like the delineation and vibrancy here. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, good fruit concentration and fine backbone. There is a little grit embedded in the texture, slightly chalky perhaps, but I like the energy conveyed by this Giscours and it feels minerally and long towards the finish. Very fine. (Tasted at the château and at BI Wine & Spirit’s annual vertical tasting).Vinous Media | 91 VM

Perfumed, with raspberries and flowers and hints of lemon. Full body, with ultra-fine tannins and a chewy finish. Austere now, but stylish. Best after 2018.James Suckling | 93 JSServed blind at the Southwold 2009 tasting. The Ferriere '09 is a little disjointed on the nose at the moment and lifted floral notes and an agreeable sense of space and airiness. The palate is medium-bodied with a sappy, iodine tinged entry. It is sweet and rounded in the mouth, although it does not show great weight, but the finish is long and graceful, underpinned by fine tannins. Lovely. Tasted January 2013.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 92 RP-NMA solid effort, with attractive, balanced black currant fruits and ripe acidity. The wine layers fruit and integrated tannins. It feels chunky and dense, finishing dryWine Enthusiast | 90 WESmoky and silky, with enticing black tea, mulled spice and fleshy plum and black currant fruit that melds nicely together through the tobacco-filled finish. Drink now through 2019. 6,000 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

Dark and structured, this is a firm wine. It has a smoky wood character, powerful tannins over intensely ripe fruit. Acidity and sweetness balance to give a dense wine, powered with richness and destined to age for many years.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WESilky and rich, this showcases black cherry with gourmet touches and swirls of black pepper and rosemary. There’s certainly an exotic edge here, with the natural drawing in of its Médoc tannins and highly enjoyable mouthwatering finish. It’s a good Giscours with clear personality, focus and balance. Decant if drinking it in the next five years. Drinking Window 2019 - 2038.Decanter | 94 DECThis powerful, yet well-structured Margaux has a lot of positive cabernet sauvignon character (cassis, ripe plum) for the appellation. Long, very clean positive finish. Drink or hold. (Horizontal Tasting, London, 2019).James Suckling | 94 JSThe 2009 Giscours has a generous and complex bouquet with well defined blackberry, cedar, mocha and light ferrous notes, more like a Saint-Julien than Margaux. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, fresh and vibrant with curry leaf and graphite. A dash of white pepper pops up towards the finish. This is a very fine Giscours to enjoy over the next 15 to 20 years. Tasted at BI Wines & Spirits’ Ten Year On tasting..Vinous Media | 93 VMThis is alluring, with lots of incense, warm espresso and roasted mesquite notes leading the way for a sleek core of mouthwatering black currant and blackberry fruit. The long finish lets the mesquite edge linger, with well-embedded grip. Rock-solid. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Best from 2014 through 2029.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

This full, fruity wine is packed with acidity as well as ripeness. It has a fresh black-currant character, and the structure underneath is strong. It will develop relatively quickly, but then could hold at its peak for many years.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEAs with other 2010s, this Kirwan is especially youthful in aspect and rather foreboding, with power and structure coming to the fore. Time in the glass reveals fine-grained tannins and a sense of overall balance, marked with flavours of cassis, mint leaf and liquorice. I appreciate the impressive mid-palate density leading to a finish with pleasing lift, although this is more about power than floral elegance.Decanter | 94 DECDried berry and plum character on the nose and palate. Full body, with chewy tannins and a juicy finish. Lots of beautiful and ripe fruit here. Better after 2017.James Suckling | 93 JS(Château Kirwan) The 2010 Kirwan is a very good example of the vintage, with impressive balance and a sense of measured ripeness that is most refreshing in this over the top year. The deep and classy nose jumps from the glass in a mélange of cassis, dark berries, coffee bean, gravelly soil tones, tobacco leaf, new oak and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nascently complex, with a rock solid core of pure fruit, firm, ripe and well-integrated tannins and impressive length and grip on the finish. A fine result. (Drink between 2020-2050)John Gilman | 92 JGAs always, this estate has produced a blockbuster style of Margaux in 2010, with the more masculine side of the appellation providing density, power, big body, loads of fruit, extract and richness. This wine is powerful and concentrated, but by no means excessively extracted. Dense purple, muscular, deep and impressive, it is a wine that allows for no compromise among wine lovers. Forget it for 6-10 years and drink it over the following 20-40 years.Robert Parker | 92+ RPBright ruby-red. Brooding aromas of boysenberry, licorice and shoe polish. Dense, sweet and creamy but serious too, with excellent definition and underlying minerality to the blueberry, cassis and spice flavors. For all its richness, this rather powerful wine is currently dominated by its structure, but the tannins are supported by mid-palate concentration of material.Vinous Media | 91+ VMTangy and elegant, with lilac, iron, red currant and cherry notes all mingling together and carrying through the focused finish. Not big, but pure, lengthy and showing fine minerality. Drink now through 2025. 9,166 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

This firm, dry wine is solidly rich and full in the mouth. With fine acidity and black currant fruit that show through the tannins, it is a wine with considerable potential.Wine Enthusiast | 94 WEThis is not as concentrated as some vintages, but is an enjoyable Giscours with plenty going for it over the medium term. Smoky black fruit aromas lead to good weight on the attack and through the mid-palate, suggesting careful and well-controlled extraction of ripe fruits. This takes its time to open and is relatively subdued, but has an enjoyable depth and spiciness. The acidity is juicy rather than tight. Drinking Window 2021 - 2040.Decanter | 92 DECA bright and fruity wine with a hot stone and currant character. Medium to full body, silky tannins and a fresh finish. Citrus undertone. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 92 JSThe 2012 Giscours offers up a profile of savory herbs, smoke, tobacco, licorice, dried rose petal, all backed up by beams of tannin that will ensure the 2012 will drink well for another decade plus. The Giscours is a bit wild and unrestrained, as it so often is, but the 2012 is very nicely balanced throughout, with lovely persistence and plenty of harmony.Vinous Media | 92 VMThis has a noticeable pepper and charcoal backdrop, but the core of black tea, crushed plum and warm currant confiture holds sway overall, while refined tannins carry the finish. Should fill out a bit more with cellaring. Best from 2017 through 2022. 23,330 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS