Wine Advisor
Figeac 2004
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
This is an excellent Figeac from...er...Figeac. It has a typical nose with earthy, red-berried fruit, aromas of cranberry, cedar and blackberry – the Cabernet Sauvignon driving it along. It will need a few years to mellow out. The palate is still backward but very balanced with chewy, bold tannins, very good weight – a Figeac that grips the mouth with notes of cranberry, raspberry leaf and a touch of sous-bois and tobacco. This will get better and better with time, as this wine has a penchant of doing. Drink 2014-2028. Tasted November 2008.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A light earthy, smoky nose with moderate intensity. Broody. But the palate is very impressive with firm tannins, dense black fruits. Balanced and harmonious. A minerally core. Vigorous and vibrant, very cohesive. This is a very fine Figeac. Excellent for the vintage. Tasted April 2005.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the property, the 2004 Figeac has a very dark color for the vintage (so much so, if blind I might not guess it as a Bordeaux!). The nose is tightly wound with dense black fruit. It conveys the feeling of being a little "pushed," trying to transcend the limitations of the vintage and forsaking elegance and finesse. It feels a little monochromatic. The palate is better: quite weighty in the mouth with blackberry, raspberry coulis and a splash of soy, segueing into more tobacco-like notes towards the finish that offers plenty of freshness. This is a stout and sturdy Figeac, quite complex with an almost English ale-like sweetness noted on the finish. Two beverages for the price of one! Tasted June 2016.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Notions of mint, Allspice, and Chinese black tea emerge from this medium-bodied, elegant 2004. It offers more in high brow finesse and aromatics than it does in substance, texture, and flavor depth. While this pretty wine should drink well for 10-12 years, it would have been reassuring to see more concentration and intensity from one of Bordeaux’s top terroirs. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2016.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Cedary, herbal, vegetal characteristics interwoven with sweet currant and cherry fruit are soft, superficial, and delicate. This wine brings to mind the old Burger King advertisement, “Where’s the beef?” Figeac can hit superb heights of subtlety and nobility (i.e., 1982, 1990, 2000), but too often it lacks concentration and intensity. Those are fatal flaws in 2004.
About the Producer
During the ten years from 2010 to 2020, the team at Château-Figeac stepped up their efforts to craft consistently precise wines whose purity reflects the distinctive character of the terroir. Each plot and each grape variety, once fully expressed, brings a new element to the rich canvas created every year at blending, giving birth to a remarkable succession of great wines. Freshness is a hallmark of our 2015, 2018 and 2020 vintages, despite very hot and sunny weather. So-called classic vintages are reinterpreted with great subtlety and a mineral cast in the 2010, 2016 and 2019 wines. The singular gift of the Château-Figeac terroir comes to the fore in the 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2017 vintages, when the weather was less auspicious. They produced highly successful wines greatly appreciated by faithful connoisseurs. In 2021, Château-Figeac inaugurated a new 5,000 m² semi underground winery equipped with custom made stainless steel and wooden vats. The summit of elegance, a jewel of innovation and precision designed to meet High Environmental Quality standards, it also offers visitors two light and airy tasting rooms.
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