2005 Château Figeac, St Emilion, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
100% new oak for ageing, 37hl/h yield from 40ha of vines. Harvest September 14 to October 3. Ideal with a 2-hour carafe.
Cedar, ash, sandalwood, blackberry, with layers of nuanced, finessed yet gourmet flavours that Figeac delivers so well. The oak is fully integrated at 17 years old, beginning to hit its stride, and the exuberance is tempered by savoury redcurrant and soft tobacco notes on the mouthwatering finish.
Drink 2022 - 2042
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com (March 2022)
Tasted at the Christies' Figeac dinner.
The 2005 Figeac has been a variable performer over the years, one where you never quite know what to expect until you pull the corks. As usual, it has a sullen bouquet at first before offering broody black fruit laced with melted tar and tobacco, hints of liquorice almost reluctantly evolving with time. The palate is medium-bodied and quite conservative, rather "static" in the glass, missing the tension and animation I think recent vintages have conveyed. There is an impressive solid nature to this Figeac, though it lacks that crucial element...charm.
Drink 2018 - 2026
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (July 2018)
The best Figeac since 2000 and 1990, this dense plum/ruby/purple-tinged 2005 offers sweet aromas of creosote, incense, fruitcake, black cherries, and cassis. With soft but noticeable tannin, this impeccably elegant, medium-bodied, authoritatively flavoured, pure, long wine will be drinkable between 2009 and 2020.
Robert M. Parker, Jr., Wine Advocate (April 2006)
35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot.
Red with a touch of brick at the rim. Ripe and round with plenty of fruit still in evidence. Majestic bouquet with dark- and red-fruit notes and a hint of leafy freshness. Sweetness on the attack then firms up and focuses, becoming long and linear. Fine tannins and notable freshness on the finish. It's hitting its stride but still has a way to go.
Drink 2017 - 2035
James Lawther MW, JancisRobinson.com (April 2022)
This is a Figeac with a rather brooding, earthy character that opens up with aeration to reveal its cherry, tobacco, leather, graphite and cedar notes on the finish. On the palate, this 2005 is a bit upright, with tannins that are a bit stricter than those of the 2006, but the two wines share an underlying delicacy. This lovely wine is ready to be enjoyed now and over the next ten years.
Drink 2022 - 2035
Yohan Castaing, Decanter.com (September 2021)
Good full medium ruby. The nose offers blackcurrant, liquorice, graphite, violet, minerals and exotic spices. Broad, suave and fine-grained on the palate, with fleshy but sharply focused flavours of currant, minerals and tobacco. Finishes classically dry and very long. This is St. Emilion with Pauillac and Graves qualities and a superb vintage for this chateau, whose wine is easy to underrate in the early going.
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous.com (May 2008)
About this WINE
Château Figeac
Château Figeac is one of the leading St. Emilion estates and its wine, with its high Cabernet content, has often been described as the most Médoc-like in St-Emilion. The estate is located in the north-west of the appellation with its vineyards adjoining those of Cheval Blanc. Its 54 hectares of vineyards lie on a deep, Médoc-like gravel topsoil over a flinty, iron-rich subsoil. Figeac was promoted in 2022 to the level of Premier Grand Cru Classé A, the top tier of the St Emilion classification.
Best of BBX: Bordeaux
Bordeaux is arguably the world’s best-known fine wine region. Here, legendary producers make classically-constructed, age-worthy wines that nearly always benefit from time in the cellar to draw out their full potential. Here is a selection of Bordeaux currently available on BBX.
Cabernet Sauvignon blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
Because of its high proportion of Cabernets, Figeac is always the most restrained (and sometimes misunderstood) of the best St. Emilions, with a lacy quality in lighter years but a beguiling presentation in the best. In 2005, the wine had majestic harmony, and although the tannins were exceptional, they were also perfectly ripened. The finish is lifted by a creamy, fresh acidity whilst the multitude of scents and flavours of black fruit, leather, dried spice and liquorice swirl and ascend on the palate. This is an impeccable Figeac, almost accessible now but glorious in 10 years (and for many more after that).
Mark Pardoe MW, Wine Director, Berry Bros. & Rudd
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