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Figeac 2015

RegionBordeaux
Subregion France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion
ColourRed
TypeStill
Grape VarietyMerlot/Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon
Also available in the following mixed case:

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

Label

Tasting Notes

A hold onto your hat wine, the 2015 Château Figeac is pure perfection and one of the wines of this terrific vintage. A blend of 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc, its deep purple color is followed by a huge nose of crème de cassis, black raspberries, smoked earth, and graphite. This is followed by a full-bodied, opulent and incredibly concentrated Saint-Emilion that has everything in the right places, no hard edges, thrilling purity of fruit, and a great, great finish. This is one of those rare gems that carries huge intensity and richness, yet still glides across the palate with no sense of weight or heaviness. Winemaker Frédéric Faye thinks the 2016 is even better but that certainly isn’t stopping me from giving this crazy good wine a triple digit score. Everyone owes it to themselves to try and taste this wine at least once! 2023 - 2063

100
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com, November 2017

Sweet ripe berry fruits on the nose, depth of flavour, precision and clarity that last from the first to the last moment of this wine. Clear cocoa bean, espresso, chocolate, but also concentrated bilberry, blackberry and raspberry. The tannins are slate-strewn, textured, adding persistency and mouthwatering salinity to the palate. This is a brilliant Figeac, and ones that lovers of this wine should absolutely not miss. Harvest September 21 to October 15, 100% new oak for ageing.

100
Jane Anson, JaneAnson.com, March 2022

The 2015 Figeac is a step up from the 2014 with exquisite scents of red berry fruit, incense, rose petal and crush stone. Pixelated with wonderful precision. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannins, wonderful backbone allied with a sense of symmetry. It is more saline than previous vintages, with saliva flowing after the wine has exited. One of the standouts from the Right Bank in this vintage. Tasted at the château.

97
Neal Martin, vinous.com, December 2021

Fabulous aromas of blackberries, black licorice and lavender. Rose petals, too. Full-bodied, deep and powerful with a sexy tannin texture of plush velvet. Long and caressing. Muscular and poised. Needs until 2022 to come together but a modern and focused Figeac.

97
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, February 2018

A blend of 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, and 28% Cabernet Franc, the 2015 Figeac is deep garnet-purple colored. It sashays out with gregarious notes of plum preserves, blackcurrant cordial, and Indian spices, followed by hints of redcurrants, camphor, and dark chocolate with a waft of violets. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is rich and seductive with superbly ripe, fine-grained tannins and well-knit freshness, finishing long and perfumed. Irresistible to drink right now (with a good decant), it will easily give another 25-years+ of pleasure.

97
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Independent, May 2022

Tasted blind. Rather overblown on the nose. Thick and a little sturdy with lots of chewy tannin. Very youthful, very ambitious.
Drink 2026-2044

17
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, February 2019

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. With pricing modest in recent vintages and quality on the rise, this is one to watch. 35% of production in 2015 was relegated to the second label - Petit Figeac. The grand vin is made from 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc. A deep purple colour in the glass. The nose is intense and brooding with ripe blackberry and blackcurrant fruit and subtle hints of incense, truffle and graphite which are very enticing. The palate is complex and alluring, with pure, intense black fruit on an initially silky and polished mouthfeel which builds momentum with layers of allspice, tobacco and sage framed by firm but ripe tannins. This wine has superb texture and intensity of fruit, yet retains a fleet-footed floral finish with superb precision, focus and length. This is another impressive Figeac that builds on their strong run of quality in recent vintages.

95+
Farr Vintners, March 2016

The nose has fragrant spicy charm the palate an intensity of flavour. Rich and ripe in the middle sweet fruit silky the fruit is supported by fine tannins. Lighter at the back a mix of red and black fruits tobacco and spice the finish is long streamlined precise. 2024-40

94/97
Derek Smedley MW, DerekSmedleyMW.co.uk, April 2016

This has the second highest ever percentage of Cabernet Franc, as well as its customary backbone of Cabernet Sauvignon, giving the wine a freshness, perfume and structure that some St. Emilions lack in 2015. Plush, concentrated and built to age, with very fine tannins, classy oak and impressive length. Drink: 2022-40

96
Tim Atkin MW, timatkin.com, April 2016
Read more tasting notes...

Tasted by Jane Anson(at Château Belgrave, 09 Dec 2017)
Part of Bordeaux Right Bank 2015 in bottle: Top scorers

From the very first sip you see why certain wines just have a hold on the imagination. This has the full intensity of St-Émilion with none of the need to shout about it or push its point home. It's just effortlessly intense and confident, with flavours of liquorice, pencil shavings, damson and cassis. It has wonderful freshness and balance, and full grip from firm tannins. Complex and persistent, this is an absolute joy to taste. 100% new oak.
Drinking Window 2023 - 2042

100
Jane Anson, Decanter.com, January 2018

The 2015 Figeac has a wonderful bouquet with pure blackberry, raspberry and mineral aromas, very focused and precise with discreet earthy scents emerging with time. The palate is very precise with crisp acidity, taut and linear with a very detailed and persistent finish. This is quintessential Figeac trying to steal some of the glory from the imperious 2016! It needs time but just wait until this blossoms. Tasted blind at the Southwold 2015 Bordeaux tasting.

97
Neal Martin, vinous.com, July 2019

The 2015 Figeac is a blend of 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc and showed impressively from barrel, the best vintage until the nascent 2016 trotted along. That subsequent vintage should not steal the thunder of the 2015. It has a captivating, very pure and refined bouquet with blackberry, bilberry, graphite and subtle violet scents (the cassis note appears to have dissipated during the élevage). The palate is medium-bodied with very fine, slightly chalky tannin matched with nigh-on perfect acidity. This feels so harmonious and so terroir-driven, exactly as I hoped for when tasting this en primeur. It is going to be a legendary wine for this historic estate and I sincerely hope you have a few bottles nestling in your cellar. Give it 8 to 10 years in bottle. Anticipated maturity: 2023 - 2050.

98
Neal Martin, March 2018

The 2015 Figeac is a blend of 29% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc and 43% Cabernet Sauvignon that was picked from 21 September with the Merlot until 15 October with the Cabernet Sauvignon at 41 hectoliters per hectare. The Cabernet comes through strongly on the nose - classic Figeac in many ways - black fruit, a touch of cassis, pencil and a touch of rose petal. The palate is drop-dead gorgeous, its foundation a lattice of filigree tannin and perfectly judged acidity. It is very fresh from its vivacious start to its pencil-lead finish imbued with effortless grace. It is almost comical that naysayers decried that Michel Rolland would turn Figeac into some kind of fruit bomb. Head winemaker Frédéric Faye has overseen a tip-top classic Figeac without any of the greenness that occasionally affected older vintages, now boasting a level of precision up there with the very best in the Right Bank. It was difficult to find fault with this quite astonishing Saint Emilion and who knows what could transpire once it is in bottle. Drink 2022-2055

97/99
Neal Martin, Wine Advocate (224), April 2016

This is the most structured Figeac in modern times. I tasted wines from this estate from the 1920s and 1910s but this is something. Full and powerful. Pure and focused. Extracted cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc.

97/98
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, March 2016

The recent leaps and bounds in improvements that have occurred at this great estate, equating to a dramatic increase in intensity and complexity—without compromising the husky, soft-spoken, sultry voice that is Figeac—is a monumental achievement. Kudos to Frederic Faye and his team for so beautifully expressing what was clearly an extraordinary vintage at Chateau Figeac! Blended of 29% Merlot, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon and 28% Cabernet Franc, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Figeac reveals vibrant black cherries, cassis, red currants, black plums and licorice notes with touches of cigar boxes, bouquet garni, potpourri, damp soil and black pepper. Medium-bodied, delicately crafted and with nuanced, quietly intense layers of vivacious red and black fruits, the palate features a solid frame of polished, rounded tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and minerally. 2022 - 2047

97+
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, Wine Advocate (Interim Fe), February 2018

Lovely combo of opulence and freshness. The Cabernet Sauvignon surely helps. Real drive and Figeac character. Real savour. Sappy. 14%. Drink 2025-2045

18
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com, April 2016
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.