Château Figeac, 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion, 2023
Frederic Faye explained that the Figeac team undertook two green harvests and a light de-leafing. They picked the Merlots early to retain a juiciness, whilst holding on and waiting for ripeness in the Cabernets. Frederic described 2023 as an "oceanic, Atlantic style". This isn't meant in a dismissive way, this is clearly a very serious Figeac, it's in reference to the cool stylish flavours, the ravishing acidity and restrained alcohols. A beautiful prelude of violets, wild, dark berries and graphite. Very sumptuous and engaging on the mid-palate - the Cabernets really sing with aromatic berries flecked with minerals and salts. Layered and thought provoking. It's luxuriant and wonderfully textured, yet it retains a sense of classicism and composure with its tightly coiled core cosseted by majestic tannins. Superb. A blend of 41% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc and 27% Cabernet Sauvignon that attained 13.5% alcohol.
critic reviews
The 2023 Figeac was bottled in March 2025, a month earlier than usual, with no fining this vintage. This bides its time in the glass, gradually opening with raspberry, dark cherries, light pencil shavings and crushed stone scents. With time, it becomes more floral in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied, with sweet red cherry and wild strawberry notes on the entry, quite spicy with white and black pepper notes. Quite long on the velvety finish, this is a classy Figeac that will drink sooner than the previous vintage, but it is still a classy offering.
A blend of 41% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc, and 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2023 Figeac has a pH of 3.68 and it is deep garnet-purple in color. It prances out of the glass with out-going scents of black raspberries and fresh blackcurrants, opening out to reveal an undercurrent of pencil shavings, rose bud tea, iron ore, and wood smoke. The medium-bodied palate delivers a rock-solid structure of firm, grainy tannins and beautiful tension supporting the taut, muscular black fruits, finishing with a long-lingering mineral firework display.
Fragrant floral aromatics straight off the bat, peony and violet, and a vibrant juiciness that travels through the palate. Savoury dark fruit character, with flint and textural interest, full of Figeac finesse. 130th vintage of the Manoncourt family at Figeac, and the first vintage where they knew they were Premier Grand Cru Classé A from the start of the season, as it was announced in September 2022. 130mm of rain lower than average over the growing season here, allowing a long slow harvest from September 6 to October 5, 45hl/h yield.
A brilliant classic in the making, the 2023 Figeac unwinds in the glass with aromas of cassis and mulberry mingled with notions of iris, cigar wrapper, pencil shavings, burning embers and spices. Medium to full-bodied, rich and layered, it's deep and concentrated, with an enveloping core of fruit that's framed by powdery tannins and lively acids, concluding with a broad, atypically mineral finish. It's a blend of 41% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc and 27% Cabernet Sauvignon that attained 13.5% alcohol.