Chateau Figeac vertical

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Comte Flaneur
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Chateau Figeac vertical

Post by Comte Flaneur »

Yesterday we attended a vertical of Chateau Figeac at the Landmark Hotel in Marylebone, organised by Decanter. The tasting was jointly hosted by the winemaker Frederic Faye and the President of the estate, Hortense Idoine-Manoncourt, daughter of the legendary Thierry Manoncourt who died in 2010. 

We started with three of the second wines, which until recently was La Grange Neuve de Figeac, but is now a Petit Figeac, a genuine second wine made from younger vines. Incidentally La Grange Neuve was the first ever second wine in Bordeaux, first produced in 1945 by Thierry Manoncourt for family, friends and estate workers, and not for sale commercially.

2013 Petit Figeac - hallmarks of a difficult vintage, bit woody and under-ripe. It could improve over 3-4 years. 85 points

2012 Petit Figeac - rounder, riper, fuller, richer, but at the same time fresh and elegant with some mineral gravel notes. Good for a second wine 89

2008 Grange Neuve - medium bodied, good ripeness, mint and black currant, iron-scented 88

Next up we tasted the last three vintages overseen by Come Eric D'Aramon, Thierry Manoncourt's son-in-law, who was ousted in 2013 by his mother-in-law, Thierry's window, Madame Marie-France, when Figeac was not upgraded to first growth "A" status in the 2012 reclassification of St -Emilion. I met him after he presented a similar - superb - tasting four years ago at the same place, two months after the reclassification. He was standing outside puffing ruefully on his cigarette knowing that he was about to get his marching orders. 

2011 Figeac - super attack of minerals, cedar and dark fruits. On the luxurious palate dark plums and gravelly notes, this is a very graceful wine, which is already drinking well. It is so fresh and elegant. The oak is not yet fully integrated but this is a class act. 93

2010 Figeac - inky and dense, fuller and richer than the 2011; this was somewhat closed down but it lacked the elegance of the 2011, which I preferred. 92

2009 Figeac - warm and sunny, but not over-ripe; tobacco leaf and minerals on the dense mid-palate with a velvety texture, but like the 2010 lacks the elegance of the 2011. 92

Next up we tasted three vintages from the mid-noughties

2006 Figeac - really interesting attack of black and red fruit 'compote', flowers and minerals. On the palate it was noticeably less dense than the 2009 and 2010 with menthol and tobacco leaf notes and a shorter slightly drying and puckering finish. Not sure where this is going. 90 

2005 Figeac - this was quite closed, but had a dense brooding mid-palate with hints of minerals, tobacco and so on. It had a bit more finesse than the 2009 and 2010, and I suspect will be showing very well in 5-10 years. For now 93

2004 Figeac - developing into a lovely wine, with plums, minerals, tobacco leaves and dark fruits. Not as dense as the 2005 but more stuffing than the 2006. Beginning to drink really well. 93

Finally...

1986 Figeac - fully mature with an orange colour, prunes, cherries, tobacco leaf and an array of tertiary aromas. A lovely wine, not as sensational as the last one shown four years ago, but a treat nevertheless. 93

To conclude it was ironic that the 2011, Eric D'Aramon's swan song, was arguably the best wine on show, or equal best with the 2004 and 2005.

As we all know when Michel Rolland was brought in as a consultant there was a collective groan from die-hard Figeac aficionados that you could hear from London to Bordeaux. The spin from the estate was that the long term oenologist was retiring anyway, so they picked up the phone to Rolland.

The truth of the matter was that Madame Manoncourt felt that Figeac was not fulfilling its full potential, and she was surely right. I would think that if we had bottles of La Conseillante next to the bottles of Figeac yesterday, the Conseillantes would have come out on top - especially in 2005, 06, 09 and 10. None of Figeacs were as good as the 1998 and 2001 Figeacs are now.

I suspect now the price of Figeac will soar, especially after the 2015 vintage. Frederic Faye is very optimistic about the 2016 vintage.
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stefan
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Re: Chateau Figeac vertical

Post by stefan »

Thanks for the notes and the gossip, Ian. It sounds like the 2013 is above average for Bdx from that vintage. 2013 impresses me as being the worst vintage since 1984.

Here the 2011 Figeac is about $130. That is a bit less than the 2010. Still...
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Chateau Vin
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Re: Chateau Figeac vertical

Post by Chateau Vin »

I echo the sentiments of Comte with regards to 2011. It's surprisingly very good compared to better right bank vintages such as 2012 and against it's peers of the same vintage. Tasted it at UGC...
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JCNorthway
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Re: Chateau Figeac vertical

Post by JCNorthway »

I don't have much experience with Figeac. I had a few bottles of the 1989, which I drank too soon. And I had one bottle of the 1990 which we opened for a special dinner at a BYOB restaurant. I just remember the fragrance from the bottle filled the room when they decanted it. It was a really good wine, and I wished that I had purchased more than just the one bottle. With pricing of recent vintages, I am unlikely to buy any more.
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Blanquito
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Re: Chateau Figeac vertical

Post by Blanquito »

I loved the 2000 when Arv brought it to an NYC tasting in 2006 or 2007.
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Gerry M.
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Re: Chateau Figeac vertical

Post by Gerry M. »

I was fortunate enough to try the 1955 Figeac about 10 years ago and really opened my eyes how great aged Brdx can be. It was just a profound bottle.
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JimHow
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Re: Chateau Figeac vertical

Post by JimHow »

1982 Figeac was spectacular both times I had it.
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Nicklasss
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Re: Chateau Figeac vertical

Post by Nicklasss »

Not a wine we see or taste often. I think we had the 1995 at Jal's place at his first pool party, it was very very good. I had the 1993 (in 2004) and the 20xx (in 2015) at the Chateau. Liked them both.

Was it the 2007 last year?

Nic
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jal
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Re: Chateau Figeac vertical

Post by jal »

I have a 1998 somewhere, I'll bring it to the convention
Best

Jacques
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greatbxfreak
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Re: Chateau Figeac vertical

Post by greatbxfreak »

Comte,

Interesting, but I wonder why you didn't taste any of the Grand Vin vintages past Luc d*Aramon area??

Frederic Faye's first vintage is 2012, before debutting as winemaker, he was vineyard manager. You should have tasted 2012, 2014 and 2015. 2015 is truly wonderful. I tasted these vintages last month, had excellent visit at Figeac, lasting 1.5 hours.

Imho, Figeac was not convincing in Aramon's area, sloppy, often not perfectly ripe, etc. He didn't care in his last years as manager.
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AKR
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Re: Chateau Figeac vertical

Post by AKR »

The 1990 Figeac is also super stuff. It seems to me that vintage should cost more, given how much they've ramped up pricing recently.

Sadly, overall, the estate is kind of on my anti QPR list.

It just seems with their huge production that it shouldn't be priced so high.

There are nearby estates with comparable cepages that give a decent rendition of cab franc heavy St Em.

But I guess they fashion themselves after Cheval Blanc and La Conseillante.

Clos St Julien, La Tour Figeac, Carmes Haut Brion (!) and the seldom seen Soutard all have some resemblance to Figeac in the glass (I think).
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