Figeac 2004

Notions of mint, Allspice, and Chinese black tea emerge from this medium-bodied, elegant 2004. It offers more in high brow finesse and aromatics than it does in substance, texture, and flavor depth. While this pretty wine should drink well for 10-12 years, it would have been reassuring to see more concentration and intensity from one of Bordeaux’s top terroirs. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2016.

Tasted at the Château Figeac vertical at the property. While I enjoy the 2005 Figeac, there is still a sense of a potential great Saint Emilion falling short of what it could have been. Now with ten years on the clock, the nose is cool and focused, very Pauillac-like in style, the Cabernet Sauvignon driving it along. With time it begins to open up and loosen its tie, revealing a pleasing licorice scent. The palate is medium-bodied with a pleasurable, supple, fleshy entry. It seems to offer black rather than red fruit at the moment, the acidity well judged. So why the parsimonious score? Well, it doesn't build on this promise, as if it runs out of ideas two-thirds of the way through. It takes the easy option and declines to offer that tension and complexity on the finish that certainly the aromatics deserve. In fact, this might well be the only wine where I prefer the 2006 to the 2005. Drink: 2017 - 2035

Crimson with a light grey rim. Low key but quite well mannered nose. Some ripe red fruit flavours and a bit of roundness on the front palate. The tannins are not excessive. A low key but true representative of the vintage. [These were my comments tasting this wine blind - I urge wine lovers to remember that this is a property that repeatedly hides its light under a bushel early on.] Drink 2010-15

Tasted at the property, the 2004 Figeac has a very dark color for the vintage (so much so, if blind I might not guess it as a Bordeaux!). The nose is tightly wound with dense black fruit. It conveys the feeling of being a little "pushed," trying to transcend the limitations of the vintage and forsaking elegance and finesse. It feels a little monochromatic. The palate is better: quite weighty in the mouth with blackberry, raspberry coulis and a splash of soy, segueing into more tobacco-like notes towards the finish that offers plenty of freshness. This is a stout and sturdy Figeac, quite complex with an almost English ale-like sweetness noted on the finish. Two beverages for the price of one! Drink: 2018 - 2030

This is an excellent Figeac from...er...Figeac. It has a typical nose with earthy, red-berried fruit, aromas of cranberry, cedar and blackberry - the Cabernet Sauvignon driving it along. It will need a few years to mellow out. The palate is still backward but very balanced with chewy, bold tannins, very good weight - a Figeac that grips the mouth with notes of cranberry, raspberry leaf and a touch of sous-bois and tobacco. This will get better and better with time, as this wine has a penchant of doing. Drink 2014-2028. Tasted November 2008.