Lisa Perotti-Brown | LPB 98-100
Published: Jun, 2020

The 2019 Figeac is composed of 30% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 36% Cabernet Franc, harvested from the 13th of September to the 7th of October. The alcohol this year is 14.1% and the pH is 3.7. Steal-your-heart scents of mulberries, black raspberries, Black Forest cake and cassis prance ever so gracefully out of the glass, followed by nuances of plum preserves, red roses, cinnamon toast and clove oil plus just a waft of lavender. Medium to full-bodied, the palate shimmers with electric energy, framed by a solid backbone of wonderfully ripe, grainy Cabernet-led tannins and bold freshness, finishing with fantastic persistence and with tons of emerging earth and floral layers. This is a simply stunning, seemingly effortless, beautifully harmonious expression of the vineyard and the vintage - bravo!

Jamessuckling.com | JS 98
Published: Dec 1, 2021

This is a really beautiful red with crushed-berry, plum, bark, mushroom and earth character. it'sfull and creamy-textured with lots of tannins, but they are integrated and polished and flow across the palate. So much depth and intensity, yet there's underlying grace and class. Try after 2025.

The Wine Advocate | RP 97
Published: Apr 7, 2022
Drink: 2029-2065

The 2019 Figeac has turned out brilliantly. Wafting from the glass with aromas of blackberries, cassis, warm spices, violets and pencil shavings, framed by a deft touch of nicely integrated new oak, it'sfull-bodied, deep and concentrated, with terrific depth at the core, powdery structuring tannins and lively acids, concluding with a long, precise finish. Rich but vibrant, this 2019 reflects the new precision that Frederic Faye has brought to Figeac; but while it'sricher and more polished than the wines of yesteryear, the estate's identity hasn't been lost. 

Director of Château Figeac since 2013, Frédéric Faye emphasizes precision and timing when he characterizes the estate's evolution over the last decade. Harvest now lasts three or four weeks, stopping and starting, so each parcel of this 41-hectare vineyard can be picked at optimal maturity. Farming is similarly adapted parcel by parcel, emphasizing sustainability. And a brand-new winery triples the team's working space, with small tanks so each parcel can be vinified separately. Yet the objective is to polish Figeac, not to change it. If the estate's wines are now suppler and fuller, their classically Cabernet-rich assemblage hasn't altered. Old-fashioned approaches such as submerged-cap fermentation for fruit growing on gravel soils have been retained. And of course, the estate's distinctive soils haven't changed. Faye and his team have turned in a brilliant performance in 2019, and the Manoncourt family have every reason to be delighted with the new lustre that he has brought to this reference-point château.

Decanter | D 97
Published: Oct 31, 2023
Drink: 2028-2050

A remarkable Figeac which, with a yield of just 34hl/ha and using 100% new oak, remains elegant and refined, with none of the alcoholic excess seen in too many 2019 St-Emilions. Cabernet Franc adds to the beguiling, cool, fragrance with concentrated, plush, dark plum/leafy blackcurrant derived from the Sauvignon. Creamily textured yet sappy, vibrant and fresh on the finish, the fine-grained tannins indicate a very long life ahead.

Closure: Cork
Alcohol: 14.09%
Body: Full
Oak: Oaked
Grapes: 36% Cabernet Franc 34% Cabernet Sauvignon 30% Merlot

Jancisrobinson.com | JR 18+
Published: Jan 31, 2023
Drink: 2029-2044

Tasted blind. Colour not as concentrated as some. Just slightly restrained and austere rather than gorgeous and a bit pinched and drying on the end. In the same idiom as Cheval Blanc but not as rich or complex. Embryonic?