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

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

With 35% Cabernet Franc and 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, Figeac, located on the gravelly plateau bordering Pomerol, is often said to be the most Médoc-like of the Saint-Émilion wines. The originality of the vintage 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 ages perfectly over time. Thierry Manoncourt, the soul of the estate for over sixty years, gave it a welcome boost. Since 2013, Marie-France Manoncourt, Thierry's widow, has formed a new board of directors with her daughters. With the competent director Frédéric Faye, the estate has reached the top of the Right Bank.

Decanter

About wine:

This wine was a hit at the Primeurs and has lived up to all expectations since bottling. It has a vibrant liveliness and a beautifully expressive nose—black fruits, licorice, and floral scents. The energy on the palate is incredible—it is 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 such a charming texture. Flawless winemaking that brings out the best of the vintage in terms of ripeness, but gives a very sophisticated and utterly delicious expression. I love this wine. A perfect wine. 2028-2050

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About wine:

Figeac 2022 is one of the flagship wines of the vintage. It unfolds in the glass with a deep and complex bouquet of black berries and blackcurrants mingled with notes of violet, pencil lead, mint, and cigar wrapper. It is medium-bodied to full-bodied, dense and concentrated, with striking intensity and fruit sweetness combined with unerring precision and energy, ending with a long and penetrating finish. Abundant but delicately filigree tannins lend a sense of classicism and proportion to a wine that might otherwise be flamboyant. As I wrote while it was still in barrel, this is the quintessence of Figeac, reflecting the vision of the late Thierry Manoncourt to plant such a large proportion of Cabernet, and on drought-resistant rootstocks. The complexity inherent in the terroirs of Figeac is such 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 estate:

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

About the estate:

With an atypical blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot in equal proportions, Figeac's unique and personal style represents the quintessence of the elegance and refinement of the wines from 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. These are wines of exceptional pedigree, easy to drink and long-lasting. Figeac shines in hot vintages (as proven by 2005) and only reveals its full potential after ten to fifteen years of aging. The construction of the new winery, completed for the 2020 harvest, has made it possible to go into even greater detail about the plots, including the intra-plot, and Frédéric Faye is delighted with the extreme functionality of the facilities. Semi-underground and close to the château, with which it shares the elegance of a grand cru, this new facility blends majestically but unostentatiously into the site, refreshing the location. The château thus confirms the extent of its "modern" classicism, its unpretentious integrity, and its rank: that of the rare first growths. Its history rooted in the legend of Saint-Emilion; the preserved trees in the park creating a perfect ecosystem; the power of its terroir with its unique relief and extremely high-quality clay soils; and the relevance of the new winery have earned the Manoncourt family's property a fourth star.

James Suckling

Jeb Dunnuck

About wine:

An absolute legend, Château Figeac 2022 is made from 35% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc, and 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, which underwent malolactic fermentation in barrels and spent 18 months in new barrels. This beautiful deep purple wine offers incredible notes of blackcurrant, spring flowers, crushed stone, graphite, and subtle tobacco. These accompany a full-bodied, ultra-pure, refined, and harmonious style on the palate. It is so rare to find a wine capable of offering such 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 wine:

A vibrant bouquet, sparkling with charm and confidence, offering a kaleidoscope of sumptuous aromas: deep black fruits, enchanting flowers (peony, iris), fresh sap, and a mineral touch of schist. The palate lives up to this promise: the flavors, faithful to the nose, overflow with abundance. The brightness of the fruit and cut flower notes is skillfully restrained on the finish by an aristocratic corset of exquisitely fine tannins with a cashmere-like texture. 2032-2062

Yves Beck

About wine:

What detail and diversity in the bouquet of Figeac 2022. Its many facets share a common richness and depth. It reveals notes of graphite, tea leaves, and redcurrants, followed by elegant woody nuances that reinforce the depth of the aroma. On the palate, the wine is impressive in both its density and finesse. It is certainly powerful, but it does not tip over into exuberance. It is carried by fleshy, velvety, and compact tannins that highlight its aging potential, while a subtle austerity emphasizes its freshness and persistence. A creamy, dense, caressing, harmonious, and exciting wine thanks to its mouthwatering, almost salty 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