(WineSpectator) - Château Giscours is accused of illegally adding sugar to a vat of 2016 Merlot, but the local syndicate had granted permission.

Margaux third-growth Château Giscours will square off with Bordeaux's prosecutor in the city's criminal tribunal in June over charges of illegal chaptalization. The authorities have accused the Bordeaux winery of adding sugar to a vat of Merlot during the 2016 harvest when officials had only authorized chaptalization of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. But the château is placing the blame squarely on France's lethargic and byzantine administration.

The battle is drawing unwanted attention to both the practice of chaptalization and the complexities of French bureaucracy just as guests from around the world taste barrel samples of the 2017 vintage.

"This is a very frustrating story for the whole team," Alexander Van Beek, director of Giscours, told Wine Spectator. Van Beek vehemently denies any intent to falsify the estate's wine production and argues that it's time for France's cumbersome bureaucracy to shift into a faster gear. "France's heavy administrative logistics must change."

Giscours' troubles started at the end of the 2016 harvest. A plot of their Merlot had been picked and filled about 20 percent of a vat. The remaining 80 percent of grapes in the vat were Cabernet Sauvignon.