Figeac 2019

97 points - Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, April 2022

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's full-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 Frédéric Faye has brought to Figeac; but while it's richer 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.

“This vintage is a benchmark for me. It was very special,” said Frédéric Faye, Château Figeac's technical director. “The growing season was unique. It was this stop, start, stop, start kind of year. It was warm and very dry. Critically, we had to protect the bunches from the sun, especially the Merlot. And we had to do a lot of plowing to give air to the vines. Veraison was unusual because it was very long. It started with the Merlot, and we noticed that for some time, some of the berries had changed color, others had not. Then, during the picking, I had to make strategic decisions. I have been working here for 17 years. I knew some plots of Merlot were ready. We needed this to maintain the brightness of fruit. Then I decided to wait for the rest of the Merlot—for the texture. It was so dry. The rain was necessary for the Cabernet—these vines really needed that late September rain. In the end, this year I think I have picked the best Cabernet Franc that I have ever picked! We had replanted some Cabernet Franc near Cheval Blanc. We taste everything blind when we do the blends, and this parcel really stood out. Even Michel Rolland (Figeac’s consultant) said, ‘Wow—what is this plot?’ So, the blend has 36% Cabernet Franc this year, thanks to the quality.” Readers should note by comparison that in 2016, Figeac had 26% Cabernet Franc, in 2017 it was just 10%, and in 2018 it was 30%.

“The Cabernet Sauvignon was also amazing this year,” Faye continued. “Very tiny berries, very concentrated. Extraction of this Cabernet Sauvignon was critical—it had to be very gentle. Finally, we did the blend at the end of February. Why I am saying this is a benchmark vintage is because of the balance of these three varieties.”

Yields this year were 32 hectoliters per hectare—a little lower than average. “We had lower yields because there was some coulure on the Merlot, and we had very small Cabernet Sauvignon berries. But the balance was there in the vineyard.”

Because Faye felt he had a lot of great fruit to work with, due to the balance of the vineyard (balance that has taken many years to achieve, I hasten to add), selection was not particularly severe this year. Seventy-five percent of the crop made it into the grand vin.

Another factor I picked up on while tasting is that while the pH is the same as last year (3.7), the fruit appears fractionally fresher, more focused and better supported by the tannins this year, with a level of brightness that goes beyond what the 2018 produced—beyond what I even thought was possible for this estate. “Yes, I picked that little bit of Merlot early just for the freshness of that fruit,” Faye told me. “For me, this 2019 is very Figeac. It is a crystalline Figeac.”

Faye does not add any sulfur before or during fermentation, in order to help keep that brightness of the fruit, only adding a little for protection from oxidation after the fermentation. As for the élevage, it is aging in 100% new oak, from five different coopers, but you don’t pick up the oak at all in the wine.

I asked Faye if this barrel sample I tasted was a final blend. “It is 100% blended,” he said. “All done, all in the barrel. What you taste is what we have.” - William Keeley