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Goedhuis, June 2020, Score: 97-99
Brilliant opaque colour with lively and pure dark cassis aromas. This racy 2019 has plenty of deep berry flavours. The Cabernet drive marries beautifully with the Merlot’s creamy plum fruit flavours that give harmony and volume in the mid palate. An amazingly nuanced wine true to its varietal makeup (30% Merlot, 34% Cabernet sauvignon and 36 % Cabernet Franc) , direct on entry, broad in the middle and then so fine on the finish. Absolute class, I love it.
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Neal Martin, January 2023, Score: 98
The 2019 Figeac has a wonderful nose, beautifully defined with black fruit, loam, black truffle shavings and light graphite scents. Very focused and plenty of vigor. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grain tannins, intense and almost pixelated towards the vibrant, tensile finish. Effortless and classy, this should evolve gracefully for many years. Tasted blind at the Southwold annual tasting. Drink 2026-2060
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Neal Martin, June 2020, Score: 97-99
The 2019 Figeac was picked from 13 September to 7 October, a total of 4 weeks picking. There is a little more emphasis on the Cabernet Franc this year - 36% of the blend. It is quintessential Figeac on the nose, that is to say that the enticing mélange of Merlot and Cabernet together creates more than a sum of their parts. Here the blackberry, crushed stone and graphite elements are seamlessly enmeshed with the more ravishing red fruit aspects delivered by the ripe Merlot. It is exquisitely defined. The palate is medium-bodied. First impressions are of a Figeac that leans more to the Cabernet/Left Bank side of its personality, quite structured with black fruit dominating, saline and marine-influenced. The Merlot really comes through towards the close delivering that almost clinical mineral-driven finish. Winemaker Frédéric Faye and his team have conjured a deeply impressive, intellectual Figeac this years, amongst the canon of greats that stretch back to the 1940s. Drink 2028-2060
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Antonio Galloni, June 2020, Score: 97-99
A stunning vivid wine, the 2019 Figeac may very well turn out to be one of the wines of the vintage, when all is said and done. Cabernet Franc is 36%, a bit higher than the norm, which has been closer to 30%. The 100% new oak is barely perceptible. Rich and dramatic in the glass, the 2019 soars with magnificent intensity. Graphite, cured meats, smoke, licorice, menthol and spice develop with aeration, but the 2019 is dense and very primary today. It is a truly grand Grand Vin in the making.
Estate Director Frédéric Faye describes a year of starting and stopping in terms of maturity. He chose to start harvest with the young vine Merlots on sand early to preserve freshness, but waited on the parcels with Cabernet on clay/gravel, where the soils retain more moisture. Faye opted for gentle winemaking as he was concerned over-extracting the Cabernets in particular.
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Wine Advocate, June 2020, Score: 98-100
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!
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James Suckling, June 2020, Score: 98-99
This is one of the most structured and linear Figeac with very fine tannins, yet at an intense level. So complex on the nose with notes of white flowers, blueberries and graphite. It’s full-bodied, very balanced and agile. So transparent and linear with brightness and raciness. 36% cabernet franc, 30% merlot and 34% cabernet sauvignon.
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Decanter, June 2020, Score: 97
A higher amount of Cabernet Franc than usual in the blend, really get the Cabernet impact on the nose and on the attack, could easily say Left Bank with the liquorice root, menthol and leafy character. A rich creaminess comes in through the mid palate, with sappy raspberry fruits alongside salinity and minerality. The exuberance of a warm summer is there but it is well hidden under the precision of the tannic structure overall. An extremely impressive and signature Figeac. Juicy on the finish and oh so careful in its tannic delivery. Drinking Window 2028 – 2046
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Jancis Robinson, June 2020, Score: 18.5
Exquisite wine. Fragrant, floral nose with a perfect pitch of fruit. Cool, minerally edge alongside. Very pure and precise, the crafting spot on. Lovely line and length with plenty of drive and persistence. Refreshing, saline finish. A classic Figeac in its elegance and restraint. Gets the nod over 2015 and 2018 and at least on a par with 2016. Drink 2028-2048 (JL)
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Wine Cellar Insider, June 2020, Score: 97-99
Beautifully dark, almost purple/garnet in color, the wine gets you going with its nose of flowers, blackberry, dark plums, spice, smoke, vanilla, cherries, licorice and tobacco leaf. As good as that is, when the wine hits your palate, the show starts with its majestic textures. Voluptuous, opulent and silky, the wine seeks attention, but it's not loud, it's discreet. Classic and yet, voluminous, the flamboyant palate-coating finish, with its multiple layers of fruit stays with you for close to 60 seconds. The wine was made from a classic blend of 36% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot reaching 14.1% alcohol with a pH of 3.7 and is aging in 100% new, French oak barrels. The harvest took place September 13 - October 7.
