Figeac 2020 (6.0L)

100 WA / 100 JS / 99 WI / 99 WCI / 98 JD+ / 98 DE / 98 JA / 97 WE / 97 VM / 97 FS / 96 WS / 18.5 JR

#4 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of 2023
#6 James Suckling's Top 100 Wines of France 2023
#10 Wine Independent Top 50 QPR Collector Wines 2023

The 2020 Figeac is the finest wine that has been bottled to date at this estate since its renaissance began a decade ago. Wafting from the glass with aromas of blackberries and raspberries mingled with cigar wrapper, pencil shavings, licorice and black truffles, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a suave, harmonious profile, vibrant acids, and beautifully refined structuring tannins. This sapid, complex wine represents the essence of this great terroir. Two years after extensive soil studies of the estate were carried out, and the first growing season to see cover crops used in the vineyards year-round, the 2020 benefited from more coherently demarcated parcels and more precise élevage, which taken together help to account for its edge over the excellent 2019. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate

A mesmerizing nose here with flowers such as violets and red roses, then shows cherries and currants with some mineral and black truffles. Full-bodied yet so refined and harmonized with ultra-fine tannins that run the length of the wine. Flavors of perfectly ripened fruit (al dente) with a hazelnut character that comes from the seeds. Incredibly transparent young red. Breathtaking. 37% merlot, 32% cabernet franc and 31% cabernet sauvignon. Drink after 2028 and onwards. Magnificent.--James Suckling

A blend of 37% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc, and 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2020 Figeac has a deep garnet-purple color. It is completely shut-down and silent to begin, requiring a vigorous shake to release nuances of boysenberries, Morello cherries, fresh, crunchy plums, and sassafras, followed by an emerging waft of plum preserves, licorice, chargrill, and violets. The medium-bodied palate is so, so tightly knit, delivering a millefeuille of black and red berries, minerals, earth, and floral notes, with electric tension and very fine-grained, exquisitely ripe tannins, finishing long, long, long. Atomic! - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, Wine Independent

The Grand Vin 2020 Château Figeac checks in as 37% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc, and 31% Cabernet Sauvignon that spent 18 months in new barrels. They also utilize plenty of press wine, and the 2020 has 8% in the blend. Straight-up awesome aromatics of crème de cassis, ripe black cherries, iron, spring flowers, and an almost bloody, salty character emerge from the glass, and it's full-bodied, with a seamless mouthfeel, gorgeous tannins, plenty of mid-palate depth, and absolutely perfectly integrated oak. It's still tight and reserved, which is certainly the vintage, so do your best to hide these in the cellar. It should hit the early stages of its prime drinking window in 8-10 years and will have 30+ of overall longevity. It will unquestionably flirt with perfection at maturity. - Jeb Dunnuck

A ripe, herbal-edged nose full of Cabernet Franc perfumed florality; violets, plums, black cherries and figs. Compelling weight on the palate, this has density and drive from the first sip with tannins that are really well integrated but have more of a juicy, high-acid edge than overtly plush, with a soft chalkiness and real mineral vein - the graphite, wet stone edges giving clear terroir markers. Lots of tension here, direct and focused; you can feel the sculpting but there’s lots of energy too – such liveliness underpinning the serious core and wide, firm structure. Poised, layered and complex, a lot going on with cinnamon, clove and cedar on the finish. A total knock-out where each sip gives a slightly different facet building to an impressive whole. Such is Figeac’s power of seduction, this makes you want to sit with it for a while marvelling at the complexity with a smile on your face. A Figeac that you're going to have to wait for, and just have lots of the excellent Petit Figeac in the meantime!--Georgina Hindle, Decanter

The first vintage since they were crowned Premier Grand Cru Classé A (although not on the label until 2022), and it's a confident showing straight out of the gate. Barely puts a foot wrong as the concentrated nature of this wine En Primeur begin to melt into a creamier expression of raspberry, blackberry and cassis fruits, studded with turmeric, cardamon, white pepper, peony, tobacco leaf, pomegranate, liqourice and smoked earth. 75% of the production in the 1st wine, harvest a long and leisurely five weeks from September 4 to October 1. 37hl/ha. An upscore. - Jane Anson, Inside Bordeaux

Newly promoted to Premier Grand Cru Classé A, the very highest rung of Saint-Emilion's hierarchy, this estate is at peak performance. This new release, rich in Cabernet Sauvignon, has an impressive structure as well as modulated, velvet tannins. It is a serious, concentrated wine, still just starting out. Drink the wine from 2027. - Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast

The 2020 Figeac was bottled in mid-July. It has an exquisite bouquet that unfolds effortlessly in the glass with blackberry, crushed stone, graphite and fresh fig scents. It blossoms with aeration. The palate is mediumbodied with slightly edgy tannins on the entry that frame the pure black fruit. It's very harmonious and silky smooth in texture that almost disguises what Frédéric Faye terms the "verticality" of the wine. Fresh and saline on the finish with just a light black pepper touch on the aftertaste. An absolute treat. -- Neal Martin, Vinous Media

A broad-shouldered wine that captures the vintage's heat well in a core of cassis and blackberry fruit flavors, which are dotted with lively savory, tobacco leaf and warm earth accents. Reveals a tarry, grippy edge as well as polish as this pulls deeply from its terroir, leaving an echo of warm paving stone at the very end. Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Best from 2030 through 2040. —James Molesworth, Wine Spectator