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Figeac 2014

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot/Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon

View all vintages of this wine | View all wines by Château Figeac

Label

Tasting Notes

Deep garnet-brick in color, the 2014 Figeac waltzes out with showy scents of baked black cherries and plum preserves followed by hints of candied violets, licorice, and sandalwood. The medium-bodied palate delivers generous black fruits with a velvety texture and impressive tension, finishing long and fragrant.

96
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, March 2024

The 2014 Figeac is showing splendidly. Vivid, red berry fruit, raspberry, Tay berry and strawberry intertwine with rose petal and crushed rock. There is less “smoke” than I have noticed in previous bottles. The palate is medium-bodied with a fresh entry, crisp acidity, a lovely underlying salinity with a clean and precise finish. It is not a complex or multi-dimensional Figeac…that was to come, but it serves as a delicious precursor to what was to come. Tasted at the château.

95
Neal Martin, vinous.com, December 2021

The aromas of blackcurrants and fresh forest floor are evocative. Oyster shells and stones. Turns to blackcurrants. Medium to full body and firm and silky tannins that are polished and coat your mouth. The palate is ever dense and concentrated. Needs four to five years to open but already a beautiful red.

96
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2017

We return here to succulence and power, after a tricky 2013 vintage. Still young at this point, it will benefit from a few more years in bottle. Majoring on dark spices, rosemary, sage and mint leaf, along with cassis and bilberry fruit. Cabernet dominant in character even though Merlot is the majority grape in this year. Good persistency through the finish, with the tannins stetching out and staying present. 33hl/hyield, 100% new oak for aging. Harvest September 9 to October 12, making the most of excellent September and early October weather ater a cooler summer.

93
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com, March 2022

Tasted blind. Looks very youthful. Real freshness without (too much) leanness. Quite a brave wine in a very distinct atypical style for St-Émilion. A little angular but well-intentioned to refresh the drinker. Minerally finish.
Drink 2021-2035

16.5
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2018

One of the great names and terroirs of Saint Emilion whose wines exude class and sophistication rather than raw power. There has been some serious improvements here recently under winemaker Frédéric Faye. Michel Rolland has been brought in to consult - but not to change the unique Figeac style. Modern techniques such as vibrating sorting tables, de-stemming and an optical laser sorting line are being used, as well as 100% new oak barrels from 7 different coopers. As a consequence, the wines produced now seem a little riper and more polished than before but are still fine, pure and classic. Unusually for the right bank there is only 30% Merlot in the vineyard with 35% Cabernet Franc and - rare on the right bank - 35% Cabernet Sauvignon. Valmy Nicolas from La Conseillante has been brought in to sort out the commercial side. 40% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 100% new oak. 70% of production goes into the first wine, with 30% making up Petit Figeac. Deep ruby colour. Blackcurrant and black cherry are the focus on a ripe, luscious, concentrated nose. There is great intensity and focus with black chocolate, blue fruits and licquorice all layers of complexity. The palate is fleshy and rich on entry, with chocolate, black cherries and blackcurrant. There are high levels of tannin but they are ripe, polished and very fine. This is a delicious, ripe Figeac that stays true to the Chateau but has a ripeness and sumptuous fruit core that is rarely achieved. There is a complex hint of cinnamon and sweet spice from measured oak. This is long and complex, a truly excellent wine and one to watch.

95+
Farr Vintners, March 2015

The 2014 Château Figeac had a tough act to follow coming after the 2015 yet it showed beautifully, with the finesse, elegance, and purity that’s the hallmark of the vintage. Black fruits, charcoal, truffle, and tobacco notes are all present in this nicely concentrated, medium to full-bodied Figeac which is beautifully balanced and long. Drink it anytime over the coming 20-25 years. 2018 - 2043

94
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, November 2017

Shows cocoa and espresso edges along the core of dark currant and fig fruit, with lots of loamy depth on the finish. Notes of tobacco and warm stone are already emerging, but this will still need some time to muscle into harmony. Best from 2024 through 2037. 8,335 cases made.

94
James Molesworth, WineSpectator.com, February 2017

The fruit is ripe the nose has depth with a mix of black and red fruits. The start of the palate has red fruited freshness but the mid palate is richer more black fruits, hints of liquorice the sweet, ripe fruit giving fleshy richness on the finish. 2020-30

91/94
Derek Smedley MW, April 2015

When this château employed Michel Rolland, allegedly in the search for higher scores, some people feared the worst. But they (and I) were wrong, because this is a fantastic 2014. Rich, plush and densely oaked, but with mineral, lead pencil-etched freshness, fine tannins and a real sense of purpose and precision.

95
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2015
92
Decanter.com, April 2015
Read more tasting notes...

The 2014 Figeac has a classic Saint-Émilion bouquet with pure raspberry and crushed strawberry scents, wet stone and smoke, wonderfully defined and vibrant. The palate is medium-bodied with fine grain tannin, poised and focused, good backbone with a linear and precise finish that suggests it will require several years in bottle. It is predestined to be overshadowed by the subsequent 2015 and 2016, but you would be foolish to ignore this gem. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. 2024 - 2055

95
Neal Martin, vinous.com, March 2018

The 2014 Figeac builds on its promise from barrel and delivers a very fulfilling bouquet with red plum, crushed strawberry, cedar and light graphite aromas that I suspect will close down for a period after bottling. (The bottle tasted at the château displayed a subtle incense aroma.) The palate is very well defined with a crisp line of acidity, sorbet fresh in the mouth and fanning out towards its structured, tensile finish. It is a great Figeac, a superb forerunner to the brilliant 2015 and it should not be underestimated. Chapeau winemaker Frédéric Faye and his team. Tasted twice (both in London and at the property) with consistent notes.

94
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate, March 2017

The Château Figeac 2014 is a blend of 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Cabernet Franc and 40% Merlot picked from 29 September and 12 October. It is matured in 100% new oak from six different coopers, the alcohol level 13% with a pH 3.7. I tasted the wine twice at the property and once more at a négoçiant. The first time, it did not quite possess the precision on the finish that I was looking for, whilst the oak felt too prominent and blurred away that distinctive Figeac character. The 2nd and 3rd samples tasted one week later showed much better. Superb delineation on the nose, the oak here nicely integrated and allowing the Figeac character to be expressed, lifted red cherries and fresh strawberry dallying with cold stone and undergrowth scents, a touch of graphite courtesy of the Cabernets. The palate is medium-bodied with typical Figeac traits of cedar and undergrowth coming through with aeration, joined by blackberry and boysenberry. The finish here displayed more precision. Yes, just a little reserved and austere but the Cabernet is on song and imparting a structured finish. There are scurrilous rumours that the Figeac style is being forsaken. On the contrary, under winemaker Frédéric Faye and the Manoncourt family, it is retained and enhanced. Drink: 2019 - 2035.

93/95
Neal Martin, RobertParker.com (218), April 2015

A beautiful Figeac with stones, oyster shells, chalk and fruits. Full-bodied and compacted with ultra-fine tannins. This is compressed and compacted with a wonderful style. The 32% cabernet sauvignon should give a unique structure here. More structured than the 2012.

94/95
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, April 2015

The 2014 Figeac is composed of 40% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 28% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet colored, it is a little subdued and broody to begin, offering slowly emerging scents of baked plums, creme de cassis, and tar with hints of fertile loam, cardamom, crushed rocks, and mossy tree bark. Medium-bodied, the palate has a generous amount of black fruit preserves with a firm, grainy texture and seamless freshness, finishing long and earthy.

94
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, May 2022
Please note that these tasting notes/scores are not intended to be exhaustive and in some cases they may not be the most recently published figures. However, we always do our best to add latest scores and reviews when these come to our attention. We advise customers who wish to purchase wines based simply on critical reviews to carry out further research into the latest reports.