2017 Château Figeac, St Emilion, Bordeaux

2017 Château Figeac, St Emilion, Bordeaux

Product: 20171009769
Prices start from £845.00 per case Buying options
2017 Château Figeac, St Emilion, Bordeaux

Buying options

Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
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6 x 75cl bottle
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Description

At Ch. Figeac, production is down by almost half but we still think the quality is high and under the guidance of Frederic Faye it continues its upward trajectory. A blend of 43% Merlot, 47% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc, it has a deep purple colour with charming aromatics of small, red berry fruits, violets and liquorice. Once in the mouth, there is a silky, mouth-filling texture with a graphite and a mineral note finishing with a pleasing graphite grip. It has a long, persistent finish. Less density and opulence than 2015 or 2016 but it is pure in tannin and focus. A truly great Cabernet Sauvignon wine.

Berry Bros. & Rudd

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Critics reviews

Neal Martin, Vinous94/100

The 2017 Figeac was picked from 5 September until 3 October according to winemaker Frédéric Faye. It has a dense blackcurrant and raspberry-scented bouquet with touches of mint and potpourri developing with aeration. This has very fine definition. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins, superb density and very fresh. A vibrant, minty finish lingers in the mouth. It is very backward of course, but there is such convincing energy locked in this wine. Great potential.

Drink 2025 - 2055

Neal Martin, Vinous.com (January 2020)

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Antonio Galloni, Vinous97/100

The 2017 Figeac is outrageously beautiful. Rich, deep and ample, the 2017 soars out of the glass with vertical intensity and explosive power. The flavours are just pulsing with energy. Time in the glass brings out a captivating range of lavender, spice, mint and rose petal overtones. The 2017 Figeac is a towering achievement from Technical Director Frédéric Faye and his team. When Michel Rolland was appointed consulting winemaker some years back, many feared the personality of Figeac would be lost. It is impossible for an outsider to truly know how small or large the impact of a single person is, but Figeac has indisputably been one of the very finest wines of the Right Bank over these last few years. The 2017 is a real "wow" wine; don't miss it.

Drink 2027 - 2047

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (March 2020)

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Jane Anson94/100

Harvest September 7 to October 3, 100% new oak for ageing.

A frost year giving an atypical blend with extremely low Cabernet Franc. Heavy smoke aromatics on the opening beats, with firm tannins at this point, concentrated keeping everything in line. Holds its core and it opens in waves of cassis, bilberry, campfire, rose stem and tobacco leaf. Mouthwatering slate finish.

Drink 2025 - 2044

Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com (March 2022)

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Wine Advocate95/100

Production was down by half this year—only producing 55,000 bottles. 

Made from 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-purple coloured 2017 Figeac gives up expressive notes of black cherries, plum preserves, black raspberries and kirsch, giving way to hints of dried leaves, cinnamon toast and warm cassis plus a waft of lavender. Medium-bodied, the palate has wonderful vibrancy with a refreshing line cutting through the crunchy black fruits and a firm, finely-grained frame, finishing long and spicy.

Drink 2023 - 2050

Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Advocate (March 2020)

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Jancis Robinson MW18.5/20

Tasted blind. 

Deep ruby. Deep and dark berry fruit on the nose. Explosive berry fruit on the palate, a real burst of energy. Whilst fleshy it is also vibrant, pure in red-cherry and dark-plum fruit quality. The tannins are mouth-coating and ripe, providing ample structure against the core. The oak is subtle, and beautifully integrated into the fruit. An outstanding example of transparency for what the vintage can offer.

Drink 2027 - 2045

Tom Parker, JancisRobinson.com (October 2021)

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James Suckling94/100

Deep nose of black fruit and savoury notes, together with a hint of leather. Impressive concentration and ripeness for the vintage. The acidity is lively but discreet, the fine tannins driving the long and focused finish. Pronounced liquorice note right at the end.

Drink or hold

James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (June 2022)

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Decanter97/100

The 2017 possesses a more earthy character than 2018 and 2019, but it is also endowed with finely focused aromas of black fruit, spice, and a hint of tobacco mingling with notes of menthol, graphite, and cedar. It impresses even more on the palate for its crystalline edge and purity and a taut but fine-boned structure. The overall impression is a devilishly seductive wine that even has a certain delicacy belying its real cellaring potential for up to twenty or even thirty years. Compelling proof that the underrated 2017 vintage produced some great Bordeaux wines.

Drink 2025 - 2050

Yohan Castaing, Decanter.com (September 2021)

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Jeb Dunnuck95/100

The grand vin is the 2017 Chateau Figeac, which was made only from first-generation grapes and is 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot, and only 10% Cabernet Franc that was brought up in new French oak. It offers a beautiful bouquet of creme de cassis, tobacco, violets, and tobacco, with a touch of forest floor and earth. Made in a pure, elegant, medium-bodied style, it's beautifully textured, seamless and elegant, with silky tannins and a solid spine of acidity.

Drink 2024 - 2044

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (February 2020)

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About this WINE

Château Figeac

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.

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St Émilion

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

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Cabernet Sauvignon Blend

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.

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