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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 88.6 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 14 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by melvinyeowq on 2/12/2022: Figeac vertical: Liked this a lot, thought this was the 2000 and vice-versa. This was how I imagined the 2000 should have been, slightly green but very much balanced and a saline, long finish. Beautiful restraint to the wine. My second on the night but I think others didn't like this as much. (2099 views) | | | Tasted by LB88 on 6/9/2019 & rated 92 points: Surprised at how good this was (2954 views) | | | Tasted by Poisey on 8/12/2016 & rated 92 points: Forest floor herbs mint and floral notes. Enticing as the nose just draws you in to this. Lean yet structures and fairly balanced. Robust concentrated finish. Nice length. Elegant and fresh. (4968 views) | | | Tasted by bjwca on 6/27/2015 & rated 90 points: Very much agree with the tasting note from TAO in 2012.
Lighter in color, NO FRUIT, but still complex enough to be quite interesting and enjoyable. I agree: dried herbs, dried leaves, and leathery as time goes by; quite watery and astringent.
Usually, I tend to dislike wines that are astringent with no fruit, but every once in a while a wine will give you pause, and force you to reevaluate what your likes and dislikes are, which is what I love about wine! Just when you think you have it all figured out, guess again!!!! (5759 views) | | | Tasted by Ericsson on 8/14/2014 & rated 86 points: Grands bordeaux chez Olivier (Geneva): Couleur la plus claire de la série avec signes de maturité assez marqués. Nez de poivrons verts sans autres nuances...ou presque.
En bouche, le vin est léger, presque gouleyant, sans beaucoup de matière. Pas parmi mes préférés...comme (presque) tous les 1997!
À terminer. (7035 views) | | | Tasted by french16 on 1/29/2014: A bad vintage for St Emilion and a wine that no critics liked but I could not care less. This is my kind of Bordeaux, far from the pathetic over ripe caricature that you can find nowadays.
So is it the best St Emilion ever? certainly not but I enjoyed the restrained style. Some nice red fruits with something ripe, more plummy in the background. A touch herbal, smoky with tobacco.
A little thin, it needed a good 20mn to gain weight on the mid palate.
Not the greatest structure but still balanced. Drink up, it will not gain anything. (6046 views) | | | Tasted by Tao on 12/18/2012 & rated 90 points: An off vintage in bottle, light ruby in color, complex and beautiful nose, candy nose in the first ten minutes, not much fruit I have to admit, then evolve to dried herbs and dried leaves over the next hour, very leathery as time goes by! On the palate, it is quite watery and astringent! Not much fruit in there, I'll say this is a wonderful claret to pair it with food!! And to me personally, the wine can be kept for another three years! Cheers! (5884 views) | | | Tasted by raybklyn on 3/11/2012 & rated 82 points: at first i thought this was a tinny unimpressive bottle. i recently tasted the 2000 at a wine auction and thought it was fuller and had more character. the cork and storage were fine but like most bordeaux wines i have tried it took several hours to reveal its true character. it remained thin with alcohol as its most notable flavour but had enough going for it to continue. will not purchase again. (4411 views) | | | Tasted by fpparis on 12/28/2011 & rated 88 points: Belle couleur et nez puissant. Au gout les arômes sont encore très présents même si on sent bien que l'on est dans la courbe descendante. (3602 views) | | | Tasted by Alex H on 10/20/2009 & rated 87 points: ICCCW wine class (Jade Palace Forum): Very austere and backward at first but opened up more so after 15mins in the glass. Rusty dusty shack , dried blood and dry earth with hints of smoke and sandalwood laced with mostly partially dried fruits. Very complex nose. Elegant and understated black fruits, earthy and drinking beautifully in its prime now. (4500 views) | | | Tasted by ricknat1 on 5/23/2009: way past what was probably not an impressive prime (3134 views) |
| Château Figeac Producer website - Read more about Chateau Figeac
Château Figeac
Vineyard: Château FIGEAC is a family-owned estate covering 54 hectares (133 acres), of which 40 (99 acres) are dedicated to vine-growing. Located to the west of Saint-Emilion, close to the boundaries of Pomerol, its 3 mounds of Güntzian gravel give the vineyard its identity and its grape variety composition.
Appellation: Saint-Emilion Grand Cru
Classification: 1st Great Classified Growth since the classification was first set up in 1954
Landscape relief: 3 mounds
Soil type: Guntzian gravel
Grape variety composition: 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot
Hand-harvested
Traditional aging
Oak and stainless steel vats
Duration of ageing: 15 to 18 months
100% new barrels
Average annual production: 120,000 bottles
Technical manager: Frédéric Faye
Cellarmaster: Jean Albino
Owners: Madame Thierry Manoncourt and her childrenRed Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comBordeaux Bordeaux Wine Guide
Vins Bordeaux (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux)
History of Bordeaux
History of 1855 Bordeaux Classification
"2009 is all about ripeness, with wines impressively packed with ripe fruit and high alcohol levels. They are showy, in-your-face, and full of pleasure. The 2010s have the fruit and alcohol levels of the 2009s, but with a compelling freshness on the finish that balances the fruit and provides a perfect sense of structure." - Ben Nelson
"2016 is a landmark vintage in certain spots of Bordeaux and it should be remembered as one of the most inspired campaigns of the last 40-50+ years." -Jon Rimmerman
"The quality of red Bordeaux in 2016 was universally lauded – although the response to the en primeur campaign was muted. Quantity was high too, with the equivalent of 770 million bottles of wine produced. An exceptionally dry summer with cool nights eventually, thanks to mid September rain, resulted in small, thick-skinned, ripe grapes, and the wines are marked by high tannin and acidity, with superb aromatic fragrance." - Jancis Robinson
"2017 was complicated, but there are some excellent wines. Expect plenty of freshness and drinkability from wines that will offer excellent value, and others that will rival 2016 in terms of ripeness and ageability. But they are likely to be the exception not the rule, making careful selection key." - Jane Anson
"In the past, a vintage such as 2022 may have been overripe, raisined and low in acidity but 2022 had a sneaky little reservoir in its back pocket - a near perfect marriage of cool/cold/rain the previous winter and the previous vintage that literally soaked the soils (a key to why 2022 is not 2003...or 1893)." - Jon RimmermanLibournais Libournais (Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux) - Read more about St. Emilion and its wines - Read more about Pomerol and its wines
Saint Emilion Grat Classified Growth, Classified Growths, Grands Crus Classes, GCC
In 1954, while the "Graves" growths had just published their own classification, the wine syndicate of Saint-Emilion, composed by wine growers, brokers and wine traders with the approval of the INAO - Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (A.O.C), decided to work on a classification for the wines of Saint Emilion. Initially, four grades were defined. These were reduced to two - First Great Classified Growth (A and B) and Great Classified Growth - in 1984.
As of Medoc's 1855 historical grading, the Saint-Emilion Great Classified Growth classification is not only based on qualitative criteria by tasting the wines on a ten years period previous to the assessment, but also on commercial considerations such as:
- sales price levels
- national and international commercial distribution
- the estate's reputation on the market
Properties who don't manage to join the club of about sixty Classified Growths are given the denomination of Great Growth ("Grand Cru"), while the remaining wineries of the A.O.C are simply reported as "Saint-Emilion". It is to be noted that the owners must officially apply to appear in the official classification. Thus for example the famous Chateau Tertre-Roteboeuf, whose quality and reputation would easily justify to be listed among the First Great Classified Growths, does not appear here by the will of its owner, François Mitjaville.
The Saint-Emilion Great Growth classification was revised in 1969, 1985, 1996 and 2006. The only two guaranteed vintage (A.O.C) who can apply to the classification are the "Saint-Emilion Grand Cru" and "Saint-Emilion" areas.
By grading 61 properties, the 2006 revision confirmed many growths from the former classification, but also caused a number of surprises and a few inevitable disappointments. Many observers thought that the impressive progression of Perse's Chateau Pavie since 1998 would be rewarded by an upgrade into the First Great Classified Growths (A) category, but finally such was not the case.
Among the estates promoted to the First Great Classified Growths B category are Chateau Troplong-Mondot and Pavie-Macquin, whose efforts made since the Nineties fully justify their new grade. It should be noted that no First Great Classified Growth was relegated to the lower Great Classified Growth class.
Promoted growths from the status of Great Growth ("Grand Cru") to Great Classified Growth ("Grand Cru Classe") are: Chateaux Bellefont-Belcier, Destieux, Fleur Cardinale, Grand Corbin, Grand Corbin-Despagne and Monbousquet.
The demoted growths from the status of Great Classified Growth to Great Growth are: Chateaux Bellevue, Cadet Bon, Faurie de Souchard, Guadet Saint-Julien, La Tour du Pin-Figeac (Belivier), La Tour du Pin-Figeac (Moueix), Lamarzelle, Petite Faurie de Soutard, Tertre Daugay, Villemaurine and Yon-Figeac. If the recent samples of some of the above mentioned properties may justify their current downgrade, there are great chances that estates like Bellevue, Tertre Daugay or Yon-Figeac will be upgraded to their previous rankings by the next revision in 2016 as the progresses noted after 2000, but not entering in the range of vintages (1993 - 2002) appointed for the criteria of selection for the 2006 classification, are noticable.
The two following estates have completely disappeared from the Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classification: Curé-Bon-la-Madeleine (integrated meanwhile to Chateau Canon) and La Clusière (integrated meanwhile to Chateau Pavie).
Finally, no estate considered as "garagiste" has integrated the classification. Valandraud, Mondotte, Le Dome, Bellevue-Mondotte or Magrez-Fombrauge have, for the least, the potential to be ranked as Great Classified Growths. In sight of the very fine quality reached by the above mentioned estates in recent vintages as well as all the innovative wine making methods used by the "garagistes", it remains to be seen whether the authorities will dare to cross the line in 2016..?St. Émilion Grand Cru Les Vins de St. Émilion (Syndicate Vitocole de Saint-Emilion) – Read about St. Emilion
Vins de Bordeaux:
Grape Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot
Soil: Sandy soils with alluvial gravel deposits
Surface Area: 4,160 ha |
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