2016 Château Figeac, St Emilion, Bordeaux
Critics reviews
Damson in colour and aromatics, this is reserved but not subdued at 6 years old. It is not yet ready to be drunk but already showcases the ripe texture and layers of powerful blackcurrant pastille, blackberry, and bilberry fruits. The minerality and salinity are striking, too, with touches of mandarin peel, cigar box, espresso, and lemongrass—pulses of fresher acidity that give poise and lift. Clearly exceptional, muscled, and concentrated. 100% new oak.
Drink 2026 - 2050
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com (July 2022)
The 2016 Figeac was bottled at the end of July 2018 since Frdéric Faye wanted to give the wine more time in barrel to develop more harmony. The stunning 24-carat bouquet rivets you to the spot with brilliant delineation and mineral-rich red fruit that articulates its terroir and any Right Bank you will find.
The palate is medium-bodied with svelte tannin, perfect acidity, wonderfully integrated new oak and enormous depth toward the fresh, pencil-box- and cedar-infused finish. This is a classic Figeac, up there with the 1947 and 1949, both recently re-tasted and testifying to a wine that genuinely belongs among the elite Saint-Émilions. Faye believes it is the best Figeac he has ever made. He is correct.
Drink 2023 - 2060
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (January 2019)
The 2016 Figeac is simply extraordinary—a wine of pure energy and vitality, the 2016 pulses with a real sense of drive. Lavender, mint, crème de cassis and cedar start to develop in the glass, but what is most remarkable about the 2016 is its total sense of harmony. Natural tension, a sort of push and pull, between the wine's intense fruit and structural underpinnings makes the 2016 a marvel to taste and contemplate. It was positively stunning in two separate tastings. Technical Director Frédéric Faye and his team made an epic Figeac in 2016.
Drink 2026 - 2066
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (January 2019)
The 2016 Figeac is comprised of 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 26% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, the nose is a little broody and reticent at this very youthful stage, slowly unfolding to reveal profound plum preserves, crme de cassis, black raspberries and star anise with hints of moss-covered bark, truffles and tilled loam plus a waft of red currants and raspberry leaves sparks.
Medium to full-bodied, the palate is practically quivering with energy, offering glimpses at tightly wound black fruit and mineral/ferrous layers, framed by very firm, ripe tannins and wonderful tension, finishing long with the spices coming through. This will need a good 7-8 years to come round and then should cellar for 40+ years. Very serious, beautifully poised and sophisticated personality this vintage.
Drink 2025 - 2065
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (November 2018)
Tasted blind. Very deep crimson. Quite sweet, rich and charred. Rather glorious, luxurious fruit in beautiful harmony. Ch Cheval Blanc? Super-appetising, even if not big. Dry finish. Subtle.
Drink 2025 - 2050
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (June 2022)
Incredibly deep and complex nose with a slew of black fruit, plus savoury and bitter-chocolate notes woven subtly into the extraordinary tapestry of aromas. Titanic concentration, but it still remains so incredibly fresh and poised. It's such a pure finish that goes on and on and on.
Drinkable now, but best from 2024.
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (June 2022)
Owned by the Manoncourt family since 1947, with Frédéric Faye as general manager and Michel Rolland as a consultant since 2013, Figeac is one of two properties ranked premier grand cru classé A in the 2022 St-Emilion Classification (but was not in 2016). Uniquely for Bordeaux’s Right Bank, its 40ha of vineyards are on mainly gravel soils, so Cabernet grapes dominate over Merlot. The 2016 blend comprises 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, and 26% Cabernet Franc, aged in 100% new oak.
Georgie Hindle: It does not give ‘drink me now’ vibes, but it’s super-refined, deep and layered. Power and concentration, a stunning, very complete wine.
Vincenzo Arnese: Delicate yet ripe aromas of plum, dark cherry, blueberry and blackcurrant, oak, cloves and star anise. Balanced.
Arthur Coggill: Rich, heady redcurrant and damson, very in-your-face red cherry. Supple, gentle palate with walnut. The length gives you time to savour the flavours.
Drink 2023 - 2051
Georgie Hindle, Vincenzo Arnese, Arthur Coggill, Decanter.com (March 2023)
Another brilliant wine from the genius of Frédéric Faye, the 2016 Château Figeac is 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc, which spent 19 months in new French oak. Roughly 75% of the production made it into the grand vin. This deeply coloured beauty is a legendary wine in the making and offers ultra-pure aromas and flavours of crème de cassis, smoke tobacco, dried herbs, chocolate, truffle, and graphite.
Showing more violet notes with time in the glass, it builds incrementally on the palate, with flawless balance, incredible elegance, no hard edges, and a finish that won't quit. Readers will have a blast comparing the 2016 and 2015 vintages over the coming 3-4 decades, and this estate is firing on all cylinders. This will most likely merit a triple-digit rating in 7-8 years and keep for four decades or more.
Drink 2026 - 2066
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (February 2019)
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.
St Émilion
St Émilion is one of Bordeaux's largest producing appellations, producing more wine than Listrac, Moulis, St Estèphe, Pauillac, St Julien and Margaux put together. St Emilion has been producing wine for longer than the Médoc but its lack of accessibility to Bordeaux's port and market-restricted exports to mainland Europe meant the region initially did not enjoy the commercial success that funded the great châteaux of the Left Bank.
St Émilion itself is the prettiest of Bordeaux's wine towns, perched on top of the steep limestone slopes upon which many of the region's finest vineyards are situated. However, more than half of the appellation's vineyards lie on the plain between the town and the Dordogne River on sandy, alluvial soils with a sprinkling of gravel.
Further diversity is added by a small, complex gravel bed to the north-east of the region on the border with Pomerol. Atypically for St Émilion, this allows Cabernet Franc and, to a lesser extent, Cabernet Sauvignon to prosper and defines the personality of the great wines such as Ch. Cheval Blanc.
In the early 1990s there was an explosion of experimentation and evolution, leading to the rise of the garagistes, producers of deeply-concentrated wines made in very small quantities and offered at high prices. The appellation is also surrounded by four satellite appellations, Montagne, Lussac, Puisseguin and St. Georges, which enjoy a family similarity but not the complexity of the best wines.
St Émilion was first officially classified in 1954, and is the most meritocratic classification system in Bordeaux, as it is regularly amended. The most recent revision of the classification was in 2012
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
Cabernet Sauvignon 38%, Merlot 36%, Cabernet Franc 26%.
Figeac's 2016 vintage displays a sophisticated and cerebral character. With its deep, black cherry colour, the wine exudes complex aromas of dark fruit, complemented by subtle notes of spice, blue fruit, and cedar. It delivers a remarkable interplay of refreshing acidity, a distinctive saline quality, and a satisfyingly crisp, juicy finish on the palate. This wine showcases impressive concentration and elegance, culminating in a focused and enduring finish.
Berry Bros. & Rudd
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