Spicy wood and ripe but diluted dried herb and smoky red and black currant aromas and flavors comprise this pleasant, straightforward, supple-textured 1997. Drink it during its first 6-8 years of life.

Tasted at the Chateau Giscours vertical, the 1997 Chateau Giscours is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot picked between September 18 and October 9. Quite mature in appearance, the nose is likewise fully mature with smudged red fruit, leather and dried herbs. The palate is medium-bodied with dry, scrawny tannin, quite bitter in the mouth with a blunt, enervated finish. This should have been consumed a decade ago, though it was never one of my favorite vintages from the estate. Tasted June 2015.