2025 Figeac (St-Emilion)

The 2025 Figeac is a powerful, deeply structured wine. Dark-fleshed fruit, mocha, incense, scorched earth, tobacco and grilled herbs soar across the palate in a towering Figeac of the highest level. All the elements are so well balanced. A season marked by very gradual ripening yielded an especially aromatic, perfumed Grand Vin. Yields were 25 hectoliters per hectare, harvested at a very modest 13% potential alcohol. The 2025 saw a cold maceration lasting six to eight days, with no sulfur added at crush, followed by another three weeks or so on the skins. Tasted two times. 96-98 points

The 2025 Figeac shows exceptional potential, unwinding in the glass with aromas of ripe cherries and minty blackberries mingled with sweet spices, pencil lead and burning embers. Medium- to full-bodied, dense and deep, with terrific concentration, sweet tannins, bright acids and a long, penetrating finish, this integrated and balanced Figeac is a serious wine, built for the long haul. Fully 90% of production went into the grand vin this year, and it`s a blend of 38% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 32% Cabernet Sauvignon. 97-99 points

The 2025 Figeac was cropped at 25 hl/ha between 1 and September, matured entirely in new oak as usual. The Cabernet components shape the aromatics at the moment, with a mixture of blackberry and wild strawberry fruit, touches of tobacco and dark powdered chocolate, all very precise and, if anything, remarkably understated considering the warmth of that summer. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine, slightly granular tannins. Darker fruit than normal, nicely structured, linear and correct, this is a Figeac that veers towards the more elegant side in Saint-Emilion. Just a touch of bitterness on the finish neatly counterbalances the contained opulence. If it ends up at the top of my banded score, I would not be surprised. 13.1% alcohol. 96-98 points

Inky colour with violet reflections, swirling cooca bean and espresso, blood orange, baked plum, blueberry, blackberries, chalky tannins, palma violets, peony, iris flowers, slate-strewn tannic architecture, intense and concentrated, great stuff with clear ageing potential. Harvest September 1 to 19, 3.64 pH, 25hl/ha yield, 3.64ph. Frederic Faye director. No deleafing during the growing season, and reduced canopy height, and a cool vinifcation approach. 90% Grand Vin, 10% Petit Figeac. 98 points