| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Right Bank > St Emilion |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
