Chateau Giscours - Margaux 2011

Chateau Giscours - Margaux 2011

The tendency common to these last vintages is the drought, which was mainly manifested in spring. Indeed, the bud break at the end of March for all grape varieties and until the beginning of the harvest, only 170mm of water fell for an average thirty-year of about 370mm (a deficit of 1 'Order of 200 mm!) The months of April and May were the driest, which facilitated the tillage and all interventions in the vineyard at this time of the year. Given this "Mediterranean" climate, the vine did not suffer from the pressure of mildew and due to the repetition of these dry conditions, its root system developed well in depth, erasing all traces of water stress at this period. Due to these climatic conditions, the vine showed an advance of 2 to 3 weeks. Fortunately, some favorable rains in June, July and August reversed the trend in the second half of the vegetative cycle, allowing the vineyard to develop normally by continuing to make its branches appear and the volume of its berries until the end of August . The fine weather was again installed in September and throughout the harvest with significant thermal amplitudes which favored the synthesis of complex aromas especially for cabernets. The health status of the grapes remained perfect thanks to these conditions. The Petit Verdot, whose fragility makes its reputation, could be expected until the end of the harvest with exceptional phenolic maturity and a potential degree greater than 13 °.