Chateau Figeac vertical
Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2016 2:11 pm
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.
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.