2022 Château Figeac En Primeur
Released this morning for sale en primeur is 2022 Château Figeac, at £1518 per six bottles: "An appropriate way to start your tenure as a Grand Cru Classé "A". 2032-2070. 97-99 points" Neal Martin.
Bordeaux En Primeur, landing in spring 2025.
To order, e-mail us at sales@richardkihl.ltd.uk
Producer Profile
Château Figeac, St. Emilion
Château Figeac is a Premier Grand Cru Classé (A) estate in the commune of St. Emilion. It takes its name from Figeacus, the Gallo-Roman owner of a villa that stood on the site in the second century AD. The land here has in all probability been used for vine growing since that time. Remains of a Roman water system and medieval defences are visible at the châteaux today.
In 1947 the estate was bought by Thierry Manoncourt, who became one the of the founders of the Union des Grands Crus. He died in 2010 and the estate is now still in the Manoncourt family. In the 2013 reclassification of St. Emilion, Figeac remained a Grand Cru Classé (B) and was not promoted, as hoped, to (A) status. This prompted a new focus on quality, with Michel Rolland brought in to modernise the style of the wine, to the chagrin of Figeac's many traditionalist customers. This process also included controversial moves like retiring the Director of the estate, who had been in post since 1988.
Visiting Figeac over the last couple of year we have seen the new winery under construction, now completed. Partially buried underground, it suggests a clear intent to elevate the wine to the highest level.
The estate has 42 ha of vines, planted to 35% Cabernet Franc, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot. This is an unusually high proportion of Cabernets for a Right Bank wine (due to the high gravel content in the soil) making Figeac difficult to taste when young, but rewarding with age.
In the most recent St-Emilion classification earlier this year (2022), Figeac was duly promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé (A).
Figeac's new winery, opened in 2021:
| RED | 2022 | Château Figeac | 75cl | £1,518 per case of 6 | Château Figeac 2022 / / 75cl £1,518 per case of 6 |
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Tasting Notes"This is the earliest ever harvest for Figeac and the fruit is something else. Flowers such as violets. Blackberries. Currants. Cherry blossom. Full-bodied with lovely freshness and depth. Crunchy and juicy. Perfect al dente fruit. 35% merlot , 34% cabernet franc and 31% cabernet sauvignon. 97-98 points" jamessuckling.com------"Vibrant damson in colour, edges of gunsmoke and red rose petals on the aromatics, as you so often find in Figeac, with dense cassis, black cherry, incense, graphite, slate, mint leaf, cocoa bean, cappucino and liquorice on the palate. This is creamy but airy, and full of joy. Close to the 2016 vintage in its construction and effortless confidence, no question of the ageing ability of this wine, and a fine vintage to mark the first year as Premier Grand Cru Classé A. Breaking down how they got here, you find inevitably careful winemaking with no pumping over, cool 26C for fermentation, making use of techniques learnt in the hot, dry summer of 2018, from cover crops to minimum green harvesting. Blend finished including 8% press in March, 3.7ph, harvest began September 1, earliest on record, until 26, second vintage in new winery. Frederic Faye director. 98 points" janeanson.com------"A beautiful wine that, shockingly, reminds me of the 2016, the 2022 Château Figeac checks in as 35% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc, and 31% Cabernet Sauvignon that was harvested from the 1st of September to the 25th. Director Frédéric Faye commented that verasion took longer than usual, and they had to do a slight green harvest to get uniform ripeness. The results are stunning. The wine has a vivid purple hue as well as remarkable freshness and purity in its black and blue fruits, which are followed by notes of wild herbs, chocolate, graphite, spring flowers, and a touch of classic Cabernet Sauvignon graphite. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has a silky, elegant mouthfeel, beautiful tannins, and a great finish. This classic, ultra-precise Figeac is going to warrant a solid decade of bottle age and be very long-lived given its purity and balance. 96-98+ points" Jebdunnuck.com------"The 2022 Figeac was picked between 1-26 September with the pH of 3.7 and 14% alcohol. This wine combines both Left Bank and Right Bank traits due to its blend (as usual), but this year leans more to the Right Bank despite a slightly lower contribution of Cabernet Sauvignon. It is very well defined, fresh and shows lively black fruit, incense and nuanced Chinese tea aromas. The palate is beautifully balanced with a lightly spiced entry, fine depth and with plenty of concentration counterbalanced by finesse toward the graphite-infused finish. Its saline aftertaste beckons you back for another sip. An appropriate way to start your tenure as a Grand Cru Classé "A". 2032-2070. 97-99 points" Neal Martin, Vinous.com------"A blend of 35% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc and 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2022 Figeac is a brilliant wine with which to celebrate this property's elevation to Premier Grand Cru Classé "A" status. Wafting from the glass with aromas of raspberries and cassis mingled with notions of iris, forest floor, cigar wrapper and pencil lead, it's medium to full-bodied, pure and perfumed, with a deep and multidimensional core of fruit, bright acids and beautifully refined tannins. Serious yet civilized, it's the quintessential Figeac, testament to the late Thierry Manoncourt's vision to plant such a large proportion of Cabernet, and on drought-resistant rootstocks. Such is the inherent complexity of Figeac's terroirs that harvest took place sub-block by sub-block between September 1st and 25th. Congratulations are in order for the Manoncourt family, director Frédéric Faye, consulting winemaker Thomas Duclos and all their team. 98-100 points" William Kelley, RobertParker.com |
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