Wine Advisor
Figeac 2005
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
This St.-Emilion offers attractive Christmas fruitcake notes, cedar wood, blackcurrants and spice in a medium-bodied, silky smooth, round and juicy style. It is up-front, tasty and well-made. Drink it over the next 10-12 years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The nose is still shrouded in lots of puppy fat: layers of ripe vanillary oak, but there seems to be superb ripeness and concentration. Cassis, macerated black cherries and redcurrants. The palate is decadent, without the millennial vintage’s sense of self-control. Ripe, fleshy, opulent – we will have to see how this ages, but it needs to develop more structure over the next 4-5 years. Drink 2018-2030+
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
A very masculine nose, a little subdued and broody. Smokey red berried fruits emerging. Palate is fresh, structured and beautifully balance. Toasty mouthfeel, superb delineation with blackberry and a touch of tobacco and tar on the finish. A superb Figeac. Tasted April 2006.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at the Château Figeac vertical at the property. While I enjoy the 2005 Figeac, there is still a sense of a potential great Saint Emilion falling short of what it could have been. Now with ten years on the clock, the nose is cool and focused, very Pauillac-like in style, the Cabernet Sauvignon driving it along. With time it begins to open up and loosen its tie, revealing a pleasing licorice scent. The palate is medium-bodied with a pleasurable, supple, fleshy entry. It seems to offer black rather than red fruit at the moment, the acidity well judged. So why the parsimonious score? Well, it doesn't build on this promise, as if it runs out of ideas two-thirds of the way through. It takes the easy option and declines to offer that tension and complexity on the finish that certainly the aromatics deserve. In fact, this might well be the only wine where I prefer the 2006 to the 2005. Tasted June 2015.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The best Figeac since the 2000 and 1990, this dense plum/ruby/purple-tinged 2005 offers up sweet aromas of creosote, incense, fruitcake, black cherries, and cassis. With soft but noticeable tannin this impeccably elegant, medium-bodied, authoritatively-flavored, pure, long wine will be drinkable between 2009-2020.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted at BBR’s 2005/2009 tasting in London. The nose on the 2005 is a little disjointed and leafy at the moment due to the Cabernet Sauvignon. It has good freshness and lift, reminding me of Pichon-Lalande in a perverse way. The palate is medium-bodied with dry, chalky tannins on the entry, very compact and quite dry and severe on the finish. I hope this does not dry out. Fingers crossed. I’ll stick a question mark next to my score and we’ll see what happens. Tasted July 2011.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The finest Figeac since the 1990 and 1982, the restrained, but complex 2005 exhibits notes of black olives, new saddle leather, tobacco leaf, and sweet cherry and black currant fruit. The wine is medium-bodied with racy tannins as well as a streamlined style built on finesse and delicacy rather than on power and concentration. Consume it over the next 15-20 years.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The Château FIgeac 2005 is quite startling when compared to the Canon or the Clos Fourtet ’05 – the fruit dialled right down, much earthier with undergrowth and pot pourri scents. The palate is medium-bodied with slightly dry tannin, good acidity, much more masculine and herbaceous as you might expect, but it is nicely balanced and easy-drinking on the finish. I was expecting a lot more from this however, having encountered this several times it has never really impressed. I much prefer recent vintages from this rejuvenated Saint Emilion stalwart.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
Tasted single blind at Southwold. This is lacking some clarity on the nose with sloes and mulberry aromas. The palate is medium-bodied, quite fleshy structured with tangible Cabernet. Dark plum, soy, a touch of bitter chocolate towards the dense, opulent finish that would benefit from more backbone. A good Figeac, one that I hope recaptures its promise in barrel but it is an ugly duckling compared to other Saint Emilions at the moment. But we know what ugly duckling become, don't we? Drink 2015-2030+ Tasted January 2009.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2005 Figeac has a broody, earthy bouquet dominated by earthy black fruit, strawberry jam and black truffle. The palate is medium-bodied with a slightly lactic entry: mocha-tinged red fruit, cooked meat and a tannic, rather masculine but focused finish. It remains very closed and rather pinched vis-a-vis its peers. Tasted December 2012.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2005 Figeac is powerful and tightly wound. It does not possess the density or sheer sexiness of many Right Bank wines. Instead, the 2005 comes across as strict and severe. I am not sure the searing tannins will ever soften enough for the 2005 to be truly pleasurable. There is good brightness and plenty of power, but also vegetal, minty notes that are a bit distracting.
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2005 Figeac has been a variable performer over the years, one where you never quite know what to expect until you pull the corks. As usual, it has a sullen bouquet at first before offering broody black fruit laced with melted tar and tobacco, hints of liquorice almost reluctantly evolving with time. The palate is medium-bodied and quite conservative, rather static in the glass, missing the tension and animation that I think recent vintages have conveyed. There is an impressive solid nature to this Figeac, though it lacks that crucial element...charm. Tasted at the Christies' Figeac dinner.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Good full medium ruby. The nose offers blackcurrant, licorice, graphite, violet, minerals and exotic spices. Broad, suave and fine-grained on the palate, with fleshy but sharply focused flavors of currant, minerals and tobacco. Finishes classically dry and very long. This is St. Emilion with Pauillac and Graves qualities-and a superb vintage for this chateau, whose wine is easy to underrate in the early going.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Bright ruby. Highly complex nose combines black- and redcurrant, graphite, iron, bitter chocolate, fresh herbs and sexy oak spices. Suave on entry, then densely packed and vibrant in the middle, with atypical sweetness and pliancy for a young Figeac without any loss of firmness. Impeccably balanced wine that finishes with sweet, fine-grained, spreading tannins and superb length. Figeac is always difficult to assess in the early going due to its very high percentage of cabernet (sauvignon as well as franc), and this is much easier to view today than it was a year ago. The ripeness of the vintage has clearly benefited this typically Medoc-like wine.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Medium ruby-red. Cool, scented aromas of blueberry, violet, licorice and dark chocolate; dominated by the cabernet franc. Then sharply focused, vibrant and fine-grained, with the minty austerity Figeac often shows in its youth. Figeac is always hard to assess at this early stage, but this vintage impresses with its liqueur-like cherry flavor. Finishes with very firm, slightly dry tannins.
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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