January 23, 2024 - Showing in this vintage quite cab franc if that's your style (it is mine). Very '86 with structure/acidity still carrying it. But feels quite resolved and at peak now.
June 11, 2023 - Corked unfortunately.
February 11, 2023 - 20 Vintages of Figeac (1985-2019): All wines tasted blind. A few observations: 1) Compared many other right bank peers, Figeac never fell into the trap of producing very high ripeness/high extraction wines. The low(er) Merlot content plays a role, but the wines clearly speak of a conscious decision of not going there. But in the 2000s the fruit profile is darker and only more recent vintages go back to the beautiful bright red fruit. 2) The hype is real: The level of greatness this winery achieves since the 2015 vintage is stunning. The complexity, delineation, purity and textural depth are miles ahead of what the company produced before. 3) Figeac shows that it is among the 15 best wines produced in Bordeaux today and considering the En Primeur prices, probably only Montrose and Pichon Lalande have an equally good value proposition in this top group. 4) Winner was the 2019 (97pts) with an unmatched purity and depth, ahead of the 2015 (96pts) and a stunning 2018 (96pts) which tells a lot about how well they coped with the hot vintage.
TN: Wet cardboard or cork. The only fault wine in the lineup.
February 6, 2023 - Chateau Figeac - 35 year vertical tasted blind 1985-2019: Unfortunately corked. One faulty bottle out of 20.
December 10, 2022 - Bottle purchased directly from the Château. Garnet color with minimal bricking Decanted to remove sediment Soft , smooth , supple wine with sweet fruit and pleasant finish Not complex , but a wonderful example of age ability of well made , right bank wine. A real treat!
August 17, 2021 - good red color with some bricking, on the nose pine needles, cedar, dark spices, cherries and cassis, on the palate like the 1985 this showed much more simply- if still attractive, seems a bit faded at this point, started off strong after 30 minutes in decanter with a wonderfully persistent cherry and intricate network of spices and forest notes- and began to fade after about 2 hours, a base neck fill bottle with a good clean cork from a reliable UK resource- but still, as can happen even from good provenance, this does not strike me as a strong example, will retaste soon from the same parcel but for now judgment reserved.
February 29, 2020 - Decanted half the bottle for dinner of steak & potatoes on the first night. Rather strong cedar component followed by tannic grip. The second half of the bottle accompanied grilled salmon dinner on the second night. Pleasing strawberry fruit with baking spices. The wood and tannins had melded nicely and no longer stood out. Modest finish.
September 9, 2019 - Corked
November 30, 2018 - Soft, mature ripe red fruit. Still has decent structure. I thought I detected a touch of Brett, but my drinking companions did not. Certainly past its peak, but still a very nice bottle of wine.
October 11, 2017 - The Grand Tour - day ten (Bordeaux): There is a wonderful floral and fruity elegance and purity here over dill and truffles and mushrooms as well as a touch of wet spice. The palate is softly spiced berries, juicy and fine, whisper thin tannins backed by slight tarragon. It's broad as well and exceedingly long. An education, perhaps, for me as a left bank devotee...mind you it's 2/3 cabernet franc and sauvignon so, hmm, perhaps not . Also this reinforces my "with time everything tends to Burgundy" theory. This is a superb wine.