Château-Figeac 2016

Incredibly seductive notes of red and black berries and spices; full-bodied and precisely built, with classy tannins, immense freshness, racy character, depth and length.

A gutsy, fully endowed wine, brimming with dark currant, warm fig and steeped blackberry notes, as well as waves of smoldering tobacco and warm gravel. Features a serious bass line, but everything works together, while flecks of savory and iron dart in and out. Best from 2025 through 2040. 8,333 cases made.

97–99. Barrel Sample. This aromatic wine is magnificent in its balance and richness. With its high proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon (38%), it is so typical of this estate. The tannins are velvety while packing a firm punch. Dark and concentrated, it is a great wine for long-term aging.

Opens with lovely plump black fruit on the nose, layered with lifted perfume and a distinct note of violets that gives the wine real aromatic poise. It feels refined and composed from the outset, the palate fresh and elegant, carried by super-fine tannins and quiet precision, before tapering into a graceful, persistent finish that underscores the wine’s balance and finesse. A beautifully judged expression of the vintage.

Incredibly deep and complex nose with a slew of black fruit, plus savory and bitter-chocolate notes woven subtly into the extraordinary tapestry of aromas. Titanic concentration, but it still remains so incredibly fresh and poised. Such a pure finish that goes on and on and on. Drinkable now, but best from 2024. Château Quintus vertical tasting. SP.

Heart-stopping from start to finish, here you have a wealth of perfectly ripe, silky fruits that come in non-stop waves and layers. Purity, silkiness, energy, and cashmere tannins with a seamless finish that easily breaks the 60-second mark and keeps on going. This is one of those special wines that is destined to become a legend in a decade or two. If you have some in your cellar, you are sitting on liquid gold. If you do not have any, and if you have disposable income, grab a few bottles or a case. Drink from 2026-2060. The wine was made by blending 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, and 26% Cabernet Franc. Drink from 2026-2060.

Dark ruby garnet, purple reflections, subtle edge brightening. Fine hint of cocoa, nuances of cloves, with air some cassis and liquorice, an aromatic peacock wheel slowly builds up, all underpinned by notes of fine woods. Complex, elegant, has a fine sweetness, ripe tannins that make the wine long, delicate chocolate-cherry flavor in the finish, has good freshness and secure length, already very seductive and drinkable, here you just have to control yourself. (2021 - 2060).

Pure, floral and lifted nose, raspberry, plum, cassis with fine wood, cedar, tobacco, and discreet oak. Very fresh, dense and well-constructed palate, youthful but ripe tannin, finely tuned oak with gentle butterscotch, digest red and dark fruit with a nuanced spiciness and a long lingering finish.

38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Franc, 49 hl/ha. Very dense purple with a black core and a violet rim. What a finely detailed bouquet of cassis, wild strawberries and blackberries, followed by licorice, perfumed pipe tobacco, chocolate pastilles and a touch of refined toasty aromas. The elegant palate shows very fine tannins and good structure, with plenty of blueberries on the finish. “Everything in balance and nothing in excess,” says Frédéric Faye: it has fruit, freshness and power, plus an endlessly long finish. Magnificent delicacy, at (almost) the same level as last year! 19+/20

Kunz Fassprobe 17: (36% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Franc, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49 hl/ha, 14% alc.) A dense, elegant, fresh, complex bouquet: red currants, blueberries, blackberries, mint, tobacco, fine herbs, currants. A finely creamy, dense, multi-layered palate with powerful, sweet, refined fruit, lots of fine tannin, a varied, dense, fresh aromatic profile, an elegant, concentrated, finely muscular structure, and a very long, full, fragrant finish with many lingering flavors. (19/20). 2017, in November, René Gabriel: garnet blood-red with ruby nuances at the outer rim. The bouquet is already dreamy at this youthful stage. Lots of spice, cinnamon, licorice, gingerbread notes, dark malt, and a blend of herbal and fruit teas, subtly sweet on the attack. On the palate it certainly shows massive tannins, but they are very elegantly integrated with the fruit flesh and the overall richness. A velvety, classic Figeac that demonstrates the current quality management at the highest level. At its optimum drinking phase, the maximum score may well be within reach. (19/20).

(36% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Franc, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49 hl/ha, 14% vol. alcohol) Dense, elegant, fresh, complex bouquet: redcurrants, blueberries, blackberries, mint, tobacco, delicate herbal notes, currants. Finely creamy, dense, multi-layered palate with powerful, sweet, refined fruit, plenty of fine tannin, a diverse, dense, fresh aromatic profile, an elegant, concentrated, subtly muscular structure, and a very long, full, fragrant finish with many lingering nuances. 19/20 2024 - 2048

This continues a superb run for this estate, cocoa bean, creamy blackberry and damson, a ton of spiced rosemary, cedar, incense, cocoa bean espresso, cracked pepper, muscular tannins at the decade mark. Confidently judged and hard to argue with, a fabulous 2016 from St Emilion. 100% new oak for ageing.

The 2016 Figeac is composed of 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, and 26% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple colored, it needs a lot of swirling to slowly coax out the powerful nose of creme de cassis, Morello cherries, and blueberry preserves, followed by hints of dried roses, clove oil, licorice, and dark chocolate with wafts of truffles and iron ore. The medium to full-bodied palate is a relative behemoth in terms of structure and intensity but not weight, delivering a rock-solid foundation of super-firm, super-ripe tannins and just enough freshness to support the dense, muscular fruit, finishing very long and with tons of earth and mineral sparks.

One of the highlights of the vintage, combining an intensely silky texture with the cabernets’ vertical depth. The finish radiates with seemingly endless length.

Aged 100% in new oak, the 2016 is only just beginning to reveal its fruit, whose intensity is easy to imagine will grow with time. The tannins have the pedigree of the vintage’s greatest successes, and the incredibly long finish propels the wine toward a far-off future.

Very fresh red fruit, licorice, vanilla. The palate is very fresh, vibrant and dynamic, with beautifully coated tannins, smooth and sappy. Lovely mouthfeel, tactile, very fruity, with a long finish. One of the vintage’s greatest successes.

Deep garnet red with violet highlights. What an exceptional nose and what complexity. Power, elegance, freshness and fruit. Lovely notes of redcurrant and blueberry. I also pick up hints of smoked bacon and floral touches. The attack is delicious, compact and creamy. On the palate, the wine has rare density yet remains very fresh thanks to its vibrant structure. This structure supports the fruit perfectly from the attack through to the finish. The tannins reveal themselves very slowly across the palate. They are fine-grained and show an impressive ability to carry their power while leaving plenty of room for finesse. We are therefore in the realm of a great wine that comes close to perfection. The finish confirms the wine’s greatness by bringing together its refined character, the fruit and its persistence. I think this wine has not yet reached what it can become, but it already has one foot in and 95% of the second as well… Which translates to 99/100.

Deep colour, more intense and more bluish (typical of Figeac in this vertical: extraction + presence of Cabernet Sauvignon). Very aromatic, fruity nose. Hint of oak (typical of Figeac). A very fine, full-bodied attack on the palate (typical of Figeac here). Then the wine develops into a juicy, noble profile with lots of flavour (typical of Figeac). An upward progression (typical of Figeac), ending with a long, complex finish (typical of Figeac here), just slightly marked by oak (typical of Figeac in this comparison with VCC).