The 2019 Figeac is composed of 30% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon and 36% Cabernet Franc, harvested from the 13th of September to the 7th of October. The alcohol this year is 14.1% and the pH is 3.7. Steal-your-heart scents of mulberries, black raspberries, Black Forest cake and cassis prance ever so gracefully out of the glass, followed by nuances of plum preserves, red roses, cinnamon toast and clove oil plus just a waft of lavender. Medium to full-bodied, the palate shimmers with electric energy, framed by a solid backbone of wonderfully ripe, grainy Cabernet-led tannins and bold freshness, finishing with fantastic persistence and with tons of emerging earth and floral layers. This is a simply stunning, seemingly effortless, beautifully harmonious expression of the vineyard and the vintage - bravo!
The 2019 Figeac was picked from 13 September to 7 October, a total of 4 weeks picking. There is a little more emphasis on the Cabernet Franc this year - 36% of the blend. It is quintessential Figeac on the nose, that is to say that the enticing m?lange of Merlot and Cabernet together creates more than a sum of their parts. Here the blackberry, crushed stone and graphite elements are seamlessly enmeshed with the more ravishing red fruit aspects delivered by the ripe Merlot. It is exquisitely defined. The palate is medium-bodied. First impressions are of a Figeac that leans more to the Cabernet/Left Bank side of its personality, quite structured with black fruit dominating, saline and marine-influenced. The Merlot really comes through towards the close delivering that almost clinical mineral-driven finish. Winemaker Frederic Faye and his team have conjured a deeply impressive, intellectual Figeac this years, amongst the canon of greats that stretch back to the 1940.