Château Figeac Saint-Emilion 2022 - 1er Grand Cru Classé A

Bettane & Desseauve

About the domain :

With 35% Cabernet Franc and 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, it's often said that Figeac, located on the gravelly plateau bordering Pomerol, is the most Medoc-like of all Saint-Emilions. The originality of this cru lies in its central terroir, which is composed of Günzian gravel, the same as that found in the Grands Crus Classés of the Left Bank. As a result, this premier cru classé evolves perfectly over time. Thierry Manoncourt, the soul of the cru for over sixty years, gave it a salutary boost. Since 2013, Thierry's widow Marie-France Manoncourt and her daughters have formed a new management board. Under the capable direction of Frédéric Faye, the estate has reached the pinnacle of the Right Bank.

Decanter

About the wine:

This wine impressed at the Primeurs and has lived up to all its promises since bottling. It has a brilliant vivacity and a beautifully expressive nose - black fruits, licorice and floral scents. The energy on the palate is incredible - it's full of life due to its high acidity and juicy red berries, but it also has a touch of creaminess and supple, fleshy tannins that give it weight and structure. It exudes power and concentration, almost hidden beneath a refreshing freshness and charming texture. Flawless winemaking that makes the most of the vintage in terms of ripeness, but results in a very sophisticated expression that is so delicious. I love this wine. A perfect wine. 2028-2050

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

Figeac 2022 is one of the leading wines of the vintage. It unfolds in the glass with a deep, complex bouquet of dark berries and blackcurrant mingled with notes of violet, pencil lead, mint and cigar wrapper. It's medium- to full-bodied, dense and concentrated, with a striking intensity and sweetness of fruit combined with unerring precision and energy, and finishes long and penetrating. Abundant yet delicately filigreed tannins lend a sense of classicism and proportion to an otherwise flamboyant wine. As I wrote in the barrel, this is quintessential Figeac, a testament to the late Thierry Manoncourt's vision of planting such a high proportion of Cabernet, and on drought-resistant rootstock. Such is the inherent complexity of Figeac's terroirs that the harvest took place plot by plot between September 1 and 25. Could the result be a contemporary version of the estate's magical 1949? 2030-2065

About the domain :

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the domain :

From an atypical grape variety, with parity between Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Figeac's unique, personal style represents the quintessential elegance and refinement of the wines of the western plateau that Saint-Émilion shares with Pomerol. Figeac has a character all its own, often more austere and compact than its neighbors when young. Wines of exceptional breed, digestible and long. Figeac shines in warm vintages (as the 2005 proves) and only reveals its full potential after ten to fifteen years of cellaring. The construction of the new winery, completed for the 2020 harvest, has enabled us to delve even deeper into the details of each parcel of land, and has delighted Frédéric Faye with the extreme functionality of the facilities. Semi-buried, and close to the château with which it shares the elegance of the grand cru, this new tool, which fits majestically but without ostentation into the site, refreshes the place. The château thus confirms the extent of its "modern" classicism, its straightforwardness without artifice, and its rank: that of the rare premiers. Its history, rooted in the legend of Saint-Emilion; the park's preserved trees, creating a perfect eco-system; the power of its terroir with its unique relief and extremely qualitative clays; and the relevance of the new winery all earn the Manoncourt family's estate a fourth star.

James Suckling

Jeb Dunnuck

About the wine:

An absolute legend, Château Figeac 2022 is made from 35% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc and 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, which underwent malolactic fermentation in barrel and spent 18 months in new barrels. This deep purple beauty offers incredible notes of blackcurrant, spring flowers, crushed stone, graphite and subtle tobacco. They accompany a full-bodied, ultra-pure style, fine and harmonious on the palate. It's so rare to find a wine capable of offering such a level of richness and intensity without any sense of heaviness, as well as an incredible sense of finesse and elegance. It reminds me of a slightly more concentrated version of the 2016. Hide the bottles for a decade if you can and enjoy them over the next 40 years. 2035-2075

Le Figaro vins

About the wine:

A vibrant bouquet, sparkling with charm and assurance, offering a kaleidoscope of sumptuous aromas: deep black fruits, bewitching flowers (peony, iris), fresh sap and a mineral touch of schist. The palate lives up to this promise: the flavors, true to the nose, overflow with abundance. The brilliance of the fruit and cut flower notes is skilfully held in place on the finish by an aristocratic corset of exquisitely fine, cashmere-textured tannins. 2032-2062

Yves Beck

About the wine:

The Figeac 2022 bouquet is full of detail and plurality. Its many facets have richness and depth in common. It reveals notes of graphite, tea leaves and redcurrants, followed by elegant woody nuances that consolidate the olfactory depth. On the palate, the wine is imposing in both density and finesse. It's powerful, but not exuberant. Fleshy, velvety, compact tannins underline the wine's ageing potential, while a fine austerity pleads for freshness and persistence. A creamy, dense, caressing wine, harmonious and exciting thanks to its salivating, almost saline finish. This is the magic of this vintage, of the Figeac terroir and of the dedicated work of the men and women who create it, year after year. Once again, unlikely resources have been identified, crystallized and brought to fruition! 2028-2060