The New Cellars at Château Figeac
Bordeaux may not have been able to receive foreign visitors last year, but by no means were things quiet. In addition to making wine during a pandemic, many châteaux were busy building state-of-the-art new cellars on their estates. K&L’s team, as some of the first Americans to hit French soil once the borders opened, were among the first to see these stellar architectural and technological achievements.
Managing Director Frédéric Faye gave us a tour of the new cellar at Château Figeac in St-Emilion. Not only is Figeac the biggest estate in St-Emilion with 54 hectares (133 acres), it is ancient: It takes its name from the Roman Figeacus family who had a villa on the same site during the 2nd century. Its soils are diverse and unique for St-Emilion, with a high amount of gravel that allows Cabernet Sauvignon to thrive. This Cabernet contributes to that signature age-worthiness that Figeac wines are known for.
As many wineries on the Right Bank were leaning into a more modern style in the early 21st century, Figeac has always held fast to its classic approach. Even as big-name oenologist Michel Rolland came on board as a consultant, their wines have maintained a low ABV and an elegant disposition. This sense of balance is especially true in a vintage like 2020, where finesse is the name of the game across Bordeaux. They harvested slowly over five weeks to make sure each piece of fruit was perfectly ripe, and used gentle extraction techniques to build concentration without losing gracefulness. The 2020 Figeac is a downright sexy wine. It’s absolutely vibrant and layered with fresh plums that taste as if you’ve just bitten into them, cocoa powder, cigar spice, graphite, and violets. It’s silky and seductive—concentrated but not heavy at all—and it’s excellent.
It was an interesting time to visit St-Emilion because the châteaux of region are in the midst of preparing their applications to be considered for Premier Grand Cru Classe A status. Since 1955, this has been St-Emilion’s version of a First Growth ranking system. One of the strongest candidates in the upcoming cycle is Château Figeac. Thierry Manoncourt, who was the head of the château until his passing in 2010, was part of the initial cohort that created the St-Emilion classification system, and so there’s a palpable excitement about this moment for this château and the family.
Thierry Manoncourt’s family still owns and runs Figeac, and they were the force behind the new cellar. The highlight of the evening was a dinner with Thierry’s widow, the vivacious and stunning Madame Manoncourt, in her beautiful home. What an honor it was to be welcomed to her table to eat fresh vegetables from her garden and taste wines from her cellar. Her hospitality and warmth were one of the highlights of the whole trip for me.
With the release of Figeac’s 2020 this week, I’m reminded that much of the conversation around Bordeaux often has to do with prices and critics scores, rather than the people at the heart of the wineries. Figeac certainly has the scores—all the critical ratings I’ve seen hover in the 95-99 range—but they also have a family devoted to the property, working to make better wines every year.
A big thank you to Madame Manoncourt, Frédéric Faye, Marielle Cazaux, and Dan Snook for an exceptional evening!