"A brilliant classic in the making, the 2023 Figeac unwinds in the glass with aromas of cassis and mulberry mingled with notions of iris, cigar wrapper, pencil shavings, burning embers and spices. Medium to full-bodied, rich and layered, it's deep and concentrated, with an enveloping core of fruit that's framed by powdery tannins and lively acids, concluding with a broad, atypically mineral finish. It's a blend of 41% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Franc and 27% Cabernet Sauvignon that attained 13.5% alcohol.
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; and that was the case a fortiori in 2023, with picking beginning with Merlot between September 6 and 15, stopping for 12 days, and then concluding with Cabernet between September 27 and October 5. Farming is similarly adapted parcel by parcel, with year-round cover crops and cultivation by horse to minimize soil compaction. And a brand-new winery triples the team's working space, with small tanks so that each parcel can be vinified separately. Yet the objective is to perfect 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 and complex terroir hasn't changed. Faye handled Cabernet Sauvignon especially gently in 2023, as the berries were small and concentrated."
Wiliiam Kelley 96-98 Punkte
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