Giscours丨Wine Couple HK

Giscours

1855波爾多評級列級酒莊第三級酒莊 (Third Growths Grand Cru Classe)

Chateau Giscours is located in the village of Margaux, the world's top wine-producing area, 20 kilometers northwest of Bordeaux, starting from Gascony Bay and the mouth of the Gironde River in the east, and spanning the huge triangular Medoc Peninsula. It was rated as a third growth in the Medoc classification in 1855.

伸延閱讀：波爾多1855 梅多克列級莊分級

Although the mermaid has the aura of "1855 Medoc Third Growth Winery". However, after the 1950s, under the influence of many factors, the winery entered a long period of downturn. In the 1990s, it even mistakenly labeled the Haut-Médoc AOC wine as Margaux AOC. Of course, the winery was implementing After a series of improvement measures such as renovation, it has gradually restored its former glory.

The winery has been managed by many foreign wine merchants, including Jonathan Davi from Boston, USA, and Count Jean-Pierre de Pescator from Luxembourg. The current owner of the winery is the Dutchman Eric Albada-Jelgersma, and its history can be traced back to the 14th century. After the French Revolution, Chateau Giscour was one of the oldest wineries in Medoc, France.

伸延閱讀：神之水滴推薦酒款，一眾酒友追捧 !!

The total area of the winery is 300 hectares, of which 80.5 hectares are vineyards, all located in the Margaux production area. Château Mermaid is one of the largest wineries in the Medoc region and one of the largest wineries in Bordeaux. The proportion of grape varieties planted is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, of which 25% of the vines The tree is over 40 years old.

The history of Mermaid Winery can be traced back to 1330. It is mentioned in a book known as the "Wine Bible" that the wine of Mermaid Manor was once presented as tribute to Louis XIV and was highly favored by the royal family. Two centuries later, in 1552, the estate was sold to Pierre L'Homme for £1,000. On the sale documents, Château Mermaid was listed as a vineyard. The French wine book Feret (regarded as the "Bible" of Bordeaux wine) once recorded that King Louis 14 liked the wine of Mermaid Winery, so the wine of the winery was always at his side. Two centuries later, the winery was owned by the Saint-Simon family. However, it was not long before the winery was confiscated during the French Revolution in 1789. Subsequently, the winery changed owners many times. One of the owners, the Count of Pescatore, a great banker in Paris, rebuilt the manor in 1847 to welcome Queen Ugeni. Many buildings are still preserved today.

In the 1855 classification system, Chateau Mermaid was listed as a third-level winery (Troisie mes Crus) in the Medoc region (Medoc). At that time, the owner of the winery was Count de Pescatore. However, because the owner did not pay enough attention to quality, the winery began to decline. In the long history of changing owners from generation to generation, the status of Mermaid Winery continued to decline until Nicolas Tari bought the winery after World War II. He first rebuilt the winery and built an artificial lake that is still amazing today, then began to classify the vineyards and re-equip the wine cellar. Decades later, however, Tari found herself still in financial difficulties, so she turned to Dutch businessman Eric Albada Jelgersma for help. Later, Tari was imprisoned, and the winery was fully controlled by Eric Albada Jelgersma. He invested in reforming the manor and wine cellar, and increased the assets of the winery. Today, the winery is fully owned by Eric Albada Jelgersma and his family, and the quality of the winery’s wines is slowly improving, with the potential to regain the former style of centuries ago.

Its appearance and the constant spouting of spring water often make people think that this is an entertainment venue. Of course, if you drive to the gate of Mermaid Winery. It’s not wrong to think so—the 50-hectare park surrounding the winery resembles a polo field or a cricket ground. It is said that there used to be an elementary school here to facilitate the children of winery workers to study.

Dutch businessman Eric Albada Jesma took over Château Mermaid. Arbada Jesma, who now lives in Switzerland, made her fortune as a food agent and supermarket operator in 1980, and started in 1995. He also took charge of the Belgian retailer Unigro. In 2005, he unfortunately started his career in a wheelchair due to an accident, but he continued to be active in the wine market and was even involved in several charitable foundations in France and the Netherlands. operations.

Later he came to France from the Netherlands. Initially, Alexander van Peek, Mermaid's director of operations, worked in a bank. I don’t speak French, but I really like wine, and I really like the feeling of being in close contact with nature during the harvest season.