I have very happily drunk more of the 1970 Château Giscours than any other vintage from this fine Margaux property of yesteryear. Way back in my college days, the 1980 vintage of this wine was one of the most affordable, very good bottles of claret that we would buy for dinner parties on weekends, and I have always had an affinity for the golden age at Giscours since that time. These days, I am down to a lone magnum of the 1970 in my own cellar, but friends still have some of the regular bottles in their own collections, so I still get to drink the wine from time to time. The wine remains beautiful and drinking at its apogee, even more than fifty years out from the vintage, offering up a superb bouquet of sweet dark berries, black raspberries, cigar smoke, dark soil tones, a touch of sealing wax and a lovely hint of balsamic overtones in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, long and still rock solid at the core, with fine soil undertow, still a wisp of backend tannin and outstanding focus and grip on the long, complex and perfectly balanced finish. A great Giscours that is almost timeless.

Very deep blackish ruby. Very rich and sweet - quite different in style from the ethereal Lafite 1973 tasted immediately before it. Full and rich and sweet. Dense and deep. Lush and luscious. Much more generous than most 1970s. Very clean, fresh finish. Big and burly. Very distinctive, if not exactly subtle. The 1970 Giscours was always a very successful wine, made in the Pierre Tari era. 17.5/20 points (JR)