Collection: Château Figeac: A World-Class Estate

Figeac’s promotion to the top tier of Saint-Emilion Grand Cru heralded what insiders already knew: Figeac is a world-class estate making some of the most thoughtful, balanced wines on the Right Bank. When I visited in April, the estate’s gifts were on full display. Figeac sits about halfway down Saint-Emilion’s limestone plateau, giving more varied soils and hence, a more varied attack when it comes to grape varieties. Merlot traditionally dominates Right Bank blends, but at Figeac, Merlot is only grown on blue clay soils, like those in Pomerol, and makes up about one-third of the blend. The other two-thirds are equal parts Cabernet Franc, planted on the seam of limestone extending from the plateau, and Cabernet Sauvignon, planted on gravel outcroppings that pepper Figeac’s holdings.

The balanced approach continues into the winery. Gentle tannin management and meticulous barrel selection leads to wines that are texturally approachable in youth, but channel Cabernet’s structure into incredibly long aging windows. While other Right Bank stars might enter and exit their drinking windows in a matter of years, I enjoy Figeac young for its black-fruited floral flourishes, and decades later for its endlessly charming cigar-box perfume.

Today’s offer features classic vintages like the 100-point (WA) 2020 and timeless 2010, plus the approachable 2017, and richly textured 2019 and ’18 vintages, both of which are available in highly limited large formats. I left my visit to Figeac with the sense that while other estates will be pushed towards higher-octane styles by climate, Figeac has mastered the nuanced winemaking of old-school Bordeaux.