- CRITICAL REVIEWS
- WINEMAKER NOTES
JD
100
Jeb Dunnuck
A hold onto your hat wine, the 2015 Château Figeac is pure perfection and one of the wines of this terrific vintage. A blend of 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc, its deep purple color is followed by a huge nose of crème de cassis, black raspberries, smoked earth, and graphite. This is followed by a full-bodied, opulent and incredibly concentrated Saint-Emilion that has everything in the right places, no hard edges, thrilling purity of fruit, and a great, great finish. This is one of those rare gems that carries huge intensity and richness, yet still glides across the palate with no sense of weight or heaviness. Winemaker Frédéric Faye thinks the 2016 is even better but that certainly isn’t stopping me from giving this crazy good wine a triple digit score. Everyone owes it to themselves to try and taste this wine at least once! Tasting date: November 30, 2017. Drinking window: 2023-2063.
RP
97
Robert Parker Wine Advocate
(Rating 97+) The recent leaps and bounds in improvements that have occurred at this great estate, equating to a dramatic increase in intensity and complexity—without compromising the husky, soft-spoken, sultry voice that is Figeac—is a monumental achievement. Kudos to Frederic Faye and his team for so beautifully expressing what was clearly an extraordinary vintage at Chateau Figeac! Blended of 29% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Figeac reveals vibrant black cherries, cassis, red currants, black plums and licorice notes with touches of cigar boxes, bouquet garni, potpourri, damp soil and black pepper. Medium-bodied, delicately crafted and with nuanced, quietly intense layers of vivacious red and black fruits, the palate features a solid frame of polished, rounded tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and minerally. Reviewed by Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Issue date February 21, 2018. Drinking window: 2022-2047.
V
97
Vinous
One of the real standouts of the vintage, the 2015 Figeac soars out of the glass with stunning aromatic presence and beautifully layered fruit. Powerful and yet also light on its feet, it is wonderfully complex from start to finish. Plum, mocha, spice, new leather and menthol gradually open up, but the 2015 is most remarkable for its sensual perfume and exceptional overall balance. This is the first vintage the winemaking team followed a new protocol designed to maintain purity of fruit and aromas by reducing contact with oxygen during the first year of aging. The 2015 Figeac is magnificent. Reviewed by Antonio Galloni. Tasting date: December 2017. Drinking window: 2025-2055.
2015 Chateau Figeac, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, France
From the outset, 2015 was always going to be one of Château-Figeac’s great successes, a generally dry year, hot to begin with, then cool as the grapes ripened. The grapes were of very high quality across all three varieties and picking took place over three weeks in accordance with the team’s assessments. The crop was perfectly homogeneous, expressing all the refinement that comes from Château-Figeac’s unique terroir and the complexity that results from its varietal mix.
HARVEST: 21 September to 15 October
VARIETAL MIX: 29% Merlot, 28% Cabernet franc, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon
Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru classé since 1955.
- Owned by the Manoncourt family since 1892. 54 hectares (133 acres) in a single block, all First Classified Growth.
- 41 hectares (101 acres) under vines.
- Second wine: Petit-Figeac (formerly Grange Neuve de Figeac from 1945 to 2011).
- Approx. 120,000 bottles of Château-Figeac/year, 40,000 for Petit-Figeac.
- An iconic label, created in 1906 by Thierry Manoncourt’s uncle.
- 3 Gunzian gravel outcrops (altitude 39m, depth. approx. 7m) flint and quartz on blue clay.
- Unusual varietal mix in which Cabernet Sauvignon predominates: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and only 1/3 Merlot
- Average age of the vines: 35
- Oldest vines in production: Merlots planted in 1921 275,000 vines, each considered as an individual
- Average yield: 40hl/ha Grapes harvested by hand, traditional and intra-plot vinification using a gravity-feed process, sustainable viticulture
- Maturing: 100% in new oak barrels, 15 to 18 months
- Consultant winemaker: Michel Rolland
- Certification and commitments to the environment: ISO 14001 certification in 2015 under the first Environmental Management System for Bordeaux vineyards; Level 3 HVE High Environmental Value certification. Registered as a wildlife reserve since 2013.
- All wine sold to Bordeaux professionals (Place de Bordeaux), en primeur sales.