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Chateau Figeac Dinner with Frederic Faye
Farr Vintners London
Tasted November 15, 2017 by BenBlu with 649 views
Introduction
This nice and informal dinner with Frederic was organized by Farr Vintners. A great opportunity to get to know Frederic and learn more about the chateau, especially as I have not had previous experience tasting Figeac.
Flight 1 - Petit Figeac 2012 & 2014 (2 notes)
From standard bottle, double decanted prior to serving
Red
2014 Château Petit-Figeac
88 points
Fresh and juicy, quite vibrant. Probably acidity a tiny bit sharp for my liking. I preferred the 2012 Petit Figeac today, but a good easy/early drinking wine nonetheless.
Red
2012 Château Petit-Figeac
89 points
Lovely early drinking Bordeaux - great nose here with a solid palate (although not up to the nose) to follow through. Slightly preferred this over the 2014 Petit Figeac side by side.
Flight 2 - Figeac 2016 & 2015 (2 notes)
Barrel sample for 2016 and freshly bottled 2015 from standard bottle (double decanted)
Red
2016 Château Figeac
This is a lovely wine in the making - although I have limited experience with tasting barrel samples there is no doubt that the fruit here is incredible pure and beautiful, shining like a bright jewel. At this stage reminiscent to me of a just bottled great red burgundy. If I were to rate this now I would say this is going to go to the 95-100 bracket. For what it's worth the only other time I had a barrel tasting of a high class Bordeaux was the 2015 Mouton at a similar stage, and this Figeac 2016 to me was miles better. I am really curious to re-taste this once in bottle - given I bought two cases en primeur I might just be doing that in a year's time. Will be fascinating to compare the 2016 and 2015 over time.
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Comment
Red
2015 Château Figeac
97 points
Great pleasure tasting this recently bottled 2015 side by side the 2016 barrel. Obviously very young, but the quality level here is sky-high, that is easy to see. This wine is currently open for business so to speak and is so sexy to drink in its slutty fruity way. If you have a lot of bottles don't hesitate to pop one now just to see what it's like and pair it with a steak, it will be a treat. Or else follow it from 2030-2050 onwards. I am going to be very curious to compare this and the 2016 over the years and drink them side-by-side now and then. This was clearly the best bottled Figeac that was shown at this Figeac dinner and probably opens a new chapter of quality for them with the 2016 following through in a seamless manner. Two slam dunks for Frederic.
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Comment
Flight 3 - Figeac 2004 & 2000 (2 notes)
From ex-chateau magnums (double decanted)
Red
2004 Château Figeac
93 points
This was probably the positive surprise of the night at this tasting dinner. It made the 2000 served alongside look really awfully pale which is partially the merit of this wine but also partially the fault of the latter which lacks quality. The 2004 is drinking beautifully today - it has a very inviting nose with notes of campfire and has great concentration on the palate with superb fruit given the vintage. In its early prime drinking window now from magnum where it should stay for 10 years. This is a wine to drink now with some nice red meat. Funnily I have not yet been disappointed with a 2004 Bordeaux ever, and all the things I have drunk (Poyferre, Cos, Saint Pierre, LMHB) were consistently low 90s scoring wines in my view that give honest pleasure - they are bit four-square but in a nice classic Bordeaux way.
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Comments (1)
Red
2000 Château Figeac
87 points
I would have really liked not to share Bob Parker's view on this wine, but I just have to hand it to him - he did nail this one in the end unfortunately scoring it mid 80s. The 2000 Figeac is really not a great wine which became evident side by side the 2004. It is very herbacious / vegatal, so green, I could not unfurl the fruit. Suggesting this is "not ready" yet is wrong in my view, this just won't blossom in my humble opinion. Weirdly enough I have had consistently underwhelming experiences with 2000 Bordeaux lately (Leoville Barton and Lagrange being the others - I have only felt that Pichon Baron made good on the high esteem the millennial vintage is generally held).
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Comments (8)
Flight 4 - Figeac 1996 & 1990 (2 notes)
From ex-chateau magnums (double decanted)
Red
1996 Château Figeac
88 points
This wine was the second disappointment after the 2000 - it was difficult to decide which one was the better, or rather, worse wine. I think the 1996 was/is slightly less bad, but not by a big margin. While it does not have the annoying greenness of the 2000, it too is lacking fruit, and in all honesty is already about to go over the hill in my view, even though this was served from ex-chateau magnum bottles. It does provide an acceptable aged Bordeaux experience, but it is a fairly "thin" wine and nothing to write home about. Drink up!
Red
1990 Château Figeac
92 points
The first bottle was not 100% clean (apparently when they initially tasted it prior to decant they thought it was a clean bottle but with air a fault became apparent). Luckily there was a second bottle which was good. Side by side the 1996 it was easy to decide which was better - the 1990. I am an incredible fan of 1990 Bordeaux I must say and it is the vintage I enjoy most drinking now out of any. The 1990 Figeac is not up there with the best of them and not quite up there with the second best of them either. It is nonetheless a very enjoyable aged Bordeaux, offering a glimps of the beautifully sweet 1990 core fruit that others have more off with some nice savory notes, but it could definitely be longer and more intense of a wine. Again, from magnum this felt to me that it is on the way down and I would drink this up!
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Flight 5 - Figeac 1985 & 1982 (2 notes)
From standard ex-chateau bottles with reconditioned corks ~ 2 years ago (double decanted)
Red
1985 Château Figeac
93 points
The 1985 Figeac is a great classic comfort Bordeaux. This wine makes me want to take the glass and fall back into a heavy leather armchair in front of an open fire place and drink 2 glasses with some cheese before hitting the sack. Nice classic Bordeaux nose of library, some truffle, with a tiny rustic (in a good honest way) palate. Interestingly this felt like while certainly in the back end of its prime out of standard bottle was clearly with a longer life ahead then the 1990 and 1996 which were served out of magnum. I would still be drinking this one now-2020 as it is not going to get better. Nice classic Bordeaux and given the market price that would be the aged Figeac I would be buying (although the 82 was a tad better and can probably also justify its price tag).
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Comment
Red
1982 Château Figeac
95 points
A good way to end the dinner, on a high note. Clearly the best of the mature Figeac wines showcased and a real treat. Shame there were only two standard bottles for the table which quickly disappeared. Lovely earthy and meatiness, a substantial Bordeaux as it should be from this lauded vintage. If you look for a nice aged Figeac go for this one if you have the wallet (else the 1985).
Closing
My bottom line is that as I see it the Chateau has certainly had a weak period over the 90s and early 2000s and could have / should have produced better wines in certain vintages given what its peers were able to produce. The 2015 & 16 are a revelation in general and especially via-a-vis other things showcased. I really look forward to following those two vintages over the next decades. Chapeau Frederic for his recent achievements here and one can only hope that this is beginning of a long lasting hot streak for Figeac. According to Frederic they are in the process of making huge investments into their facilities.